


Flower Fellow

by NeonCandies



Series: Overwatch Hanahaki Disease [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Past Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison/Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Reaper76 - Freeform, Will probably have more than one cliff hangers, but here's that next part that I was asked for, continuation to The Dead Don't Bloom, hanahaki, idk how many chapters this part will have, read that to understand this, we'll see what I'm in the mood for ;D
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-05 11:28:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14043282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonCandies/pseuds/NeonCandies
Summary: Now that Jack knows Gabriel is still alive, he won't miss the chance to right the wrongs of the past. He has hope that Gabriel still cares, that deep down he still loves Jack. After all, he's still coughing up those flowers, isn't he? Now Jack just has to find a way to get to the wraith. And after that... Well who knows? Gabe always did say he made better plans on the fly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Heyooooooo. Setting this here for your enjoyment. Not as long as I usually write, but I wanted to leave it on a cliffhanger so here you go. I really don't know how long this will be, probably 5 chapters AT MOST. I think what I'm going to do is write it all out first and then post parts every other day. Or week. Once again, we'll see~ Thank you for your comments on the last part, they were all so very sweet and really did make me want to write a continuation. So it's all thanks to you guys that this is out here! Hope it's up to your standards and leaves you wanting more~ Till next time.

“Gabi?”

The hacker watched the wraith rise from his slouched position, replacing the bone white mask on his face. Even without turning his head, Sombra knew he was paying attention to her.

“Ready to go?” She was biting her lip in barely contained excitement. If he didn’t know her any better, Reaper would’ve thought she was pumped for the mission. But he did know her and he knew that she only got this excited when she found something challenging to hack or was messing with someone.

Kicking the box of delicate blue flowers under his cot, Reaper stood and cracked his knuckles. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s just get the job done.”

She saluted, skipping back a few steps before walking after the black wraith. “Sure, no problem! Akande says we fly out in ten minutes. We’ll probably get to Hawaii in four hours, not including turbulence. You sure we can’t just take a little time to rest and enjoy the beach before the mission?”

Reaper let out a gruff sound akin to a snort. “If you get your job done, I don’t care what you do.” Sombra’s face lit up, yet before she could say anything, he added, “But if you don’t get back to the dropship before we take off, then you’re going to be left behind.”

Sombra whined, “What?! Seriously?? But extraction is the moment the mission finishes!”

“Then you’d better enjoy the beach while you can.”

Huffing, Sombra rolled her eyes, pursing her lips. She blinked before a grin blossomed across her face. Sombra began to casually examine her nails in a way Reaper knew meant she was going to say something she found “interesting”. And Sombra’s definition of “interesting” usually meant a headache for Reaper.

“You know Overwatch has been on our tail a lot lately.”

“… So?”

“That means they might show up for this mission too.”

“What about it?” Reaper grimaced behind his mask, having an idea on where this was going and not liking it one bit. He picked up his pace, knowing it was futile to try and outwalk his charge, but he sure as hell was going to try.

“You might run into some old faces. Maybe an… Old flame?”

Reaper stopped walking just outside the hanger, turning and looming over the other. “What’s your point, Sombra?” He growled, shoulders tensing.

Holding up her hands in a placating manner, Sombra grinned innocently. “Nothing bad! I’m just curious on what you’ll do if that happens! I mean if you figured out that grandpa 76 is Jack Morrison, then what’s stopping him from figuring out it’s you?” She kept her voice low, having enough brains to not let others overhear the conversation.

He rolled his eyes and relaxed marginally, “Not going to happen. I’m not the man I once was, so there’s nothing for him to notice. The only thing remotely similar is these fucking flowers. And I don’t plan on coughing them up in front of anyone anytime soon.”

The only exception to the rule grinned sheepishly, taking a step back and glancing to the loading docks. “Very true! But say someone just **_happened_** to send your little soldier boy some, do you think he’d understand what it meant? Hypothetically speaking, that is!”

Feeling his body stiffen, Reaper’s gaze narrowed at her and his form began to haze at the edges. “Sombra, what did you do?”

“Now Gabi, you know I love you, but you weren’t going to do anything! I figured a little push wouldn’t hurt! I did it for your own good!” Sombra exclaimed, taking a step back.

“Sombra!” Reaper snarled, his form growing and breaking apart into denser fog. He towered over her, crimson eyes appearing over his hazy body and glaring menacingly. Rows of sharp, monstrous teeth also began appearing, parting threateningly at her.

Grinning sheepishly, Sombra suddenly disappeared in a static haze of purple, reappearing near the ship they were boarding. “Sorry Reaps!” She called, already scurrying into the ship.

Reaper bit back a roar of rage, body shaking as he took several long moments to reign in his form before he turned into an even more monstrous eldritch horror. Shaking out his shoulders, the former Blackwatch agent stalked his way towards the ship, sending a glare towards the hacker once he boarded. Sombra sent him a sweet grin tinged with fear as she buckled herself in, clearly sensing her impending doom at the hands of her comrade.

Reaper strapped himself into his seat, ignoring the curious brow raise from Moira. He crushed down the sudden wave of anxiety gnawing away at his chest. Reaper still had a job to do and the possibility of Jack knowing his identity didn’t matter. It changed nothing; not now, not ever.

//

The plan was simple, Reaper, Akande, and Moira would infiltrate the security base. While Moira and Akande provided a distraction, Reaper would sneak through the security doors and make his way to the center chambers where the most high grade weapons were located. There he would activate Sombra’s translocator and guard her while she unlocked the doors. They were to retrieve the blueprints for the weapons, destroy all copies but the ones Sombra had, and then destroy the facility. Widowmaker would be stationed outside watching the perimeter and letting them know if anyone unwanted arrived.

It was simple and easy, almost too easy. Shoot a guard here, snap a neck there, pretty much child’s work. Reaper made it deeper into the facility without much effort, pulling out the purple translocator.

“I’m here.” He said, activating it and tossing it onto the ground.

“ _Roger roger_!” Sombra chirped, “ _Heading up now_!”

Her translocator beeped several times and in a glitch of purple she appeared. Without waiting for orders she squatted near the door, placing her palm on it and opening a purple screen with her other hand.

“ _Movement on the West side, we’re about to have company_.” Came Widow’s bland tone over the coms.

“ _Numbers_.” Akande asked, the sound of him punching the wall and it shattering heard over the com-link.

“ _5 coming in from the ground floor, two going around the building and out of my sights_.”

“ _Understood. Moira and I will focus on the five. Sombra, track down the two strays and keep tabs on them. Reaper, intercept them and keep them from Sombra_.” Akande ordered.

“ _On my way, just finishing up a little… Project_.” Moira chuckled over the screaming in the background.

“Seriously? I’m kind of busy at the moment.” Despite saying this, Sombra pulled up another set of screens, typing away on it while glancing back at the first screen she had opened. Drawing up a few security cameras, she scrolled through them until she grunted. “Found them. We’ve got one Soldier 76 and one Hanzo Shimada cutting in through the North hall and aiming for our location.”

Without saying anything Reaper dematerialized, turning into an inky cloud and disappearing up one of the vents. Sombra huffed, tapping on her screen and pulling up a map of the vents. “Head left and keep going straight. You’ll want to keep on that path until you reach another crossroads. Take a right from there and another right after that.”

“ _Understood_.” Reaper weaved through the vents, following the directions Sombra gave out as they came.

Hesitating, Sombra pressed a few buttons, muting communications with Moira, Akande, and Widowmaker. She set up a separate channel between her and Reaper, chewing on her lip before speaking.

“Hey, Gabi?”

“ _Focus on the job, Sombra_.”

“I know, I am.” She huffed, moving back to the code flying on the purple screen. “But I wanna ask… Are you doing fine? With the… Thing?”

There was silence for several long seconds before Reaper sighed, “ _Private channel_?”

“Mmm. Already ahead of you.”

It was then Reaper allowed a few coughs to slip out followed by another gravelly sigh. “I’m hanging in there. Just finish your job while I finish mine.”

“Any flowers yet?” She asked, eyes flickering over to the security cameras, listing off another set of directions for Reaper to follow.

“ _No, but I can feel them crawling their fucking way up._ ” He said quite bitterly.

Biting her lip, Sombra hesitated before she went back to hacking into the weapons room. “Well just be careful, ok? Get out of there if you need to. Hide in the vents or something. They can’t suck you outa them unless they’ve got a vacuum on hand.”

Reaper let out a gruff snort of amusement, rolling his eyes in something akin to fondness. “ _Right. I’ll keep that in mind_.”

Humming, Sombra clicked her tongue, closing the screen with the cameras. “The next vent you see, drop. Closing private channel in three… Two…”

Reaper heard a click in his ear piece before sounds of Akande shouting orders to Moira filtered back in. He grunted, materializing his body enough to switch the damn thing on silent. If Akande or the others needed to get in touch with him, they’d get Sombra to work her magic. She had messed with the communicators enough to know how to bypass a simple silencing.

Following her orders, Reaper pushed his ghostly form through the vents, materializing almost instantly. He dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, body crouched in order to absorb the impact shock. Slowly he drew himself up to his full height, a hiss of exhaled air leaving his shadowy form. At the end of the hall in front of him stood Jack and Hanzo, both at the ready with their weapons drawn.

“Hate to drop in, but that’s as far as you’re going to get.” Reaper informed, hands going to his waist and grabbing the handles of the duel shot guns as they materialized. He pointed them towards the Overwatch operatives, a gun for each man.

Sharing a quick glance, Hanzo and Jack both nodded before they ran forward. Reaper had no qualms about firing off his guns, the two men of course dodging. Hanzo leapt to the side, using his momentum to place his feet against the wall and push off. He shot forward, getting close to Reaper and firing off two arrows.

Reaper dodged one, breaking his body into a cloud in order to avoid the other. He turned solid just as Hanzo sprinted past, Reaper’s clawed gloves just barely missing the ribbon trailing after the archer. Growling, he trained one of his guns on Hanzo’s back, intent to take fire just as a heavy weight slammed into his side. His aim was thrown off and his shot missed, though not by much. A few pellets from the spray managed to nick Hanzo’s arm, but probably not enough to keep him from firing arrows.

“Keep going! Make sure they don’t get into the vault!” Jack yelled, digging his feet in and giving a full-bodied shove, slamming Reaper’s chest against the wall.

Reaper snarled, eyes narrowed as Hanzo slipped around the corner quickly. Of fucking course the Shimada would be fast on his feet, it seemed to run in the damn family, enhancements or not. Obviously this was going to be a problem for their plan. He’d have to warn Sombra since he doubted he’d be able to catch up to Hanzo, not with fucking Boy Scout over here proving to be a distraction.

With as much strength as he could muster, Reaper threw his head back, managing to catch the old fool in the chin. Jack cursed, the weight against Reaper’s back slackening slightly. Using the opening, Reaper spun, backhanding Jack and forcing him to stagger to the side. Reaper didn’t stop there, bringing a leg up and kicking the other in the gut.

Jack took it like a champ, lunging forward and aiming a jab at Reaper’s mask. As they traded blows and dodged, Reaper couldn’t help but find humor in the fact that once again they’d ditched their guns in order to fist fight. He wondered if this was going to be a reoccurring thing with Jack. He hoped not, Reaper didn’t think he could handle the emotional toll of constantly running in to him. Besides, he didn’t think he could find enough excuses to convince Akande that it was just bad luck he had yet to put a bullet in the back of Jack’s head.

And speaking of bad luck, his stupid flowers decided now was the perfect time to constrict his throat. Biting back the coughs that wanted to spill free, he hit Jack in the face before shuffling back and putting distance between the two of them. He didn’t know how long he had till he would be hit by a coughing fit, so it would be better to ditch sooner rather than later.

Reaper grunted, placing a hand to his com-link, quickly turning it on as he dodged Jack’s attacks. “Sombra, you’re about to have company.”

Anything she might have said was lost to Reaper, the wraith taking a blow to the side of the head that made a popping sound from the communicator. He weaved around Jack’s punches, sending jabs and kicks of his own that were blocked or dodged just as frequently. Reaper bit back a growl, this was getting old. He’d have to break up the system, do something Jack wouldn’t expect. Just anything so he could get away from the other.

Yet before Reaper could do anything, he himself was caught by surprise. He had been anticipating for Jack to throw a left hook, his arms already raising to block the intended blow. But suddenly a fist connected to his gut, knocking the air out of his dead lungs. He coughed from the impact, feeling the tickle against his lips of a few stray petals dislodging from his throat.

Reaper stumbled back, the petals pressing against his face, but unable to escape his mask. Jack didn’t give him a moment to regain his bearings. He slammed into Reaper, the wraith’s back hitting against the wall. An arm came up to grab one of Reaper’s wrists and pinned it to his chest, all of Jack’s weight pressing against him.

“Gabe!”

It was like ice had shot through his veins, gripping his dead heart tightly and squeezing painfully. Reaper didn’t move, he couldn’t even twitch his fingers. Not a thought was able to pass through his mind other than a single phrase. ‘ _Oh fuck_ ’.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry this took so long to come out! I've been busy with finals and the Overwatch event. Needless to say it has given me soooo many new ideas for things. This isn't a super long chapter, but it does get the ball rolling. Apologies if they seem ooc, I'm only now figuring out how I want to portray them. Hopefully by the time I start writing Fight or Flight, I'll be better at writing them xD
> 
> Also for future reference to the upcoming chapters: The reason why Gabriel is still referred to as "Reaper" when it isn't through dialogue is because he himself has not come to terms with letting go of his Reaper facade. 
> 
> Anyways once again thank you for reading and any possible comments/kudos you leave!

Reaper’s mouth was dry, his throat rough and feeling as if he’d swallowed several pounds of sand. The only sounds hanging in the air between them was Jack’s heavy breathing and the solid thuds of a heartbeat. Was it his heart or Jack’s? Though he couldn’t remember the last time his heart beat, Reaper was starting to wonder if this was enough to jumpstart the thing into pumping again.

The two still had yet to move, neither reacting to anything. It wasn’t till Jack lifted a gloved hand and brushed his fingers against the bottom of his mask that Reaper jolted into acute awareness of his surroundings. Suddenly remembering that he could easily escape this hold, Reaper promptly exploded in a cloud of black smoke, reforming away from Jack. He glanced back at the sound of the soldier smacking into the wall, his support literally disappearing right from under him.

Both of them glanced down, watching little blue petals fall to the floor at Jack’s feet. They had been dislodged from his mask when Jack had barely lifted it, the blue flowers not disintegrating with his form like he had expected them to. If there was ever any doubt left that Reaper was Gabriel, the presence of those bluebells chucked those thoughts right out the window.

Unable to form a response to fill the aching silence that reigned between them, Reaper did the only thing he could think of, he ran. It was clear that Jack hadn’t been anticipating that if his confused sputter was anything to go by. Hell, even Reaper was confused why he’d suddenly decided to flee. You’d think the raging terrorist would chose fight rather than flight, but it seemed like everything was out of the norm today.

Jack’s confused stammering didn’t last long however, the soldier giving chase. “Gabe!” He shouted, “Get back here!”

Reaper seemed to have once again forgotten that he could turn into a cloud of angry gas, the wraith too busy skidding down the hall and turning a corner, Jack hot on his heels. If he had been thinking clearly, Reaper could’ve escaped through the vents, but he wasn’t thinking clearly. He was panicking like this was his first day at the SEP all over again. Of fucking course Reaper loses his cool when Jack is involved. But what made this time different then all the other encounters? Probably the fact that his identity had been found out and Reaper, despite all his insisting that it wouldn’t change anything, was never truly prepared for the actual confrontation. Any plan he might’ve had just went up in smoke, gone like his usual brooding façade.

“Why are you even running?!”

Biting back a barking laugh of hysteria, Reaper darted around another corner. “Well why are you even chasing?!” He threw back, tone hostile and prickly.

“Because you’re running! Damn it, Gabe, stop running!!”

Jack’s heavy footsteps then lost their consistent rhythm, almost like he was only using one foot. Reaper got his answer as to why when something weighty smacked into the back of his head. The wraith stumbled and skidded to a stop. Whipping around, Reaper glared accusingly at the boot lying innocently on the floor before dragging his crimson stare up to Jack.

He was silent for a moment, his growl increasing in volume as Jack slowed to a stop. “Did you seriously just throw your shoe at me?”

Bending down, Jack picked up his boot, shoving it on and hopping around for a moment till it was securely on his foot. “Well it got you to stop, didn’t it? You know, I never thought you’d actively run away from confrontation, Gabe. Back in the day, you’d pretty much go for the throat at anything that boxed you in. “

“Yeah? And when did you notice me doing that? Before the end of the war when we were hiding in bunkers forming plans against the God Ai’s or after it, when your head was so far up the UN’s ass you couldn’t see what was happening right under your nose?” Reaper seethed, crossing his arms over his chest. The claws on his gloves dug painfully into the meat of his arms. He used that sensation to ground himself and keep his panic from rising.

Jack stiffened, his hands clenching into fists. “Gabe… I didn’t come here to bring up the problems of the past.”

Reaper gave an exaggerated sigh, rolling his head in lieu of rolling his eyes. “Of course you aren’t. And you’re here to… What? Stop Talon? Doing a piss-poor job of it if you’re standing here chatting with me.”

“You can’t exactly talk since you’re here instead of helping your team.” Jack pointed out, his own arms crossing over his chest.

The two fell into a tense silence, neither willing to talk first. Reaper kept his glare on Jack, not giving any outward indication of his unease. Being unable to tell the expression being directed his way made Reaper apprehensive, he sincerely hoped Jack was the same way. At least then he wasn’t the only one on edge. When Jack let out an intense sigh and let his shoulders slump, Reaper felt himself hunching in grim anticipation.

Running a hand through his white hair, Jack shook his head slowly. “Gabe… I didn’t come here to fight. Not the way we normally do, anyways.”

“Really? My broken com-link would like to protest that.” Reaper hummed coldly, reaching up and pulling out said broken device, dropping it onto the floor.

“You know what I mean!”

“Do I?” Reaper snarled, glaring at Jack. “It’s been years, Morrison. Years since we’ve last talked, since we last had each other’s back. It’s been years since I last knew what you meant whenever you said something.”

This was a familiar feeling, anger. He could use this, he could get through this so long as he kept a deathly grip on the rage and pain bubbling throughout his body. Taking a threatening step forward, Reaper hunched his shoulders, letting wisps of black smoke cascade from his body and fade behind him. It was an intimidation tactic he learned to do over the years. Stop appearing human, gradually look more and more like a monster and you’ll intimidate the hell out of anyone. After all, everyone remembered their fears of a monster under their bed or in their closets. Having one actually exist right in front of them would make anyone quake in their boots.

But then again, Reaper should’ve known better. Jack was not a lesser man, he was a soldier through and through. And not only that, but he had literally just saw Reaper running away like a coward. It would take much more to intimidate the other, but Jack had enough brains to know that Reaper was still dangerous. The tensing of his body was noticed, even if he tried to keep his voice leveled and soft.

“Gabe, please. Don’t you remember what happened before the explosion? How we agreed to go after everyone that destroyed our family?” Jack’s voice was pleading, when was the last time Reaper had heard him use that tone of voice with him? It’s been so long he couldn’t even remember.

“There was a lot of things said in the heat of the moment. It doesn’t mean shit now.” Reaper said as casually as he could, even when spitting those words out felt like nails digging into his chest. Of course those final moments mattered, they mattered more than anything to the wraith. After all, he had assumed that those were the last moments he had spent with Jack. And as far as he was concerned, it was. Those were the last moments Gabriel Reyes had been with Jack Morrison.

Growling, Jack shook his head in a mix of frustration and anger. “Don’t act like you don’t care! Why else would you be targeting former Overwatch members?”

“I like the thrill of it.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit!” He stepped forward, pointing an accusatory finger towards Reaper. “You were a lot of things, Gabe, but you never killed without a reason. So cut the crap on acting like you don’t care. You’re still coughing up those flowers, so I know you do. Maybe not about Overwatch, but I know you still care about me at least.”

Reaper stiffened, his ire igniting with newfound heat. “Oh give me a break.” He hissed, shoulders hunching even further. “Don’t act like you suddenly have a right to say what I care about. So what I’m still coughing up the flowers? That doesn’t mean anything! Those flowers brought me nothing but misery and pain, even when they stopped killing me! Every time I coughed them up by the handfuls, it would remind me over and over of what I lost! I thought you were dead!!”

He was yelling by this point, but who cared. He stalked forward, jabbing a clawed finger at Jack’s chest, forcing the other super soldier to step back with every march forward Reaper made. “Even when I thought you were dead, those flowers didn’t go away. But you know what happened? They shriveled up and died too! I was coughing up dead flowers for who knows how long! And then you came back! You weren’t dead and those flowers mocked me by flourishing! They’ve caused me nothing but trouble!”

“Then why didn’t you get them removed?!” Jack snapped, smacking away Reaper’s hands from furiously jabbing at his chest. “If your feelings are so much of a problem, then why keep them?! You’ve already thrown so much away, why not them as well?!”

“Because they’re for you!” Reaper yelled back.

The two were breathing hard, but it was clear the fight was leaving them fast. Reaper deflated, his shoulders slumped and his anger being replaced with just exhaustion.

Sighing, Reaper slipped a hand under his mask, rubbing at his face. “Jack… Please. Gabriel Reyes was lost in the Swiss explosion. Just let him die.”

“I can’t do that Gabe, you know I can’t. I refuse to lose you again.”

Clenching his hands tightly, Reaper summoned one of his shotguns. He raised it, pointing it directly at Jack’s chest. “Then you leave me no choice.”

///

Hanzo ignored the blood dripping down his arm as he made his way through the facility, the sounds of Jack and Reaper fighting fading behind him. It took the archer no effort at all to navigate through the winding halls, having memorized the map hours prior. He knocked an arrow just before he reached the hall with the vault, already preparing for a fight.

When he rounded the corner and came upon the purple hacker, he raised his bow, poised to strike her hunched form.

“Do not move.” Hanzo ordered, eyes narrowed.

Sombra didn’t seem surprised at Hanzo’s appearance, not even looking towards him as she hissed, “Shush!”

It would be an understatement to say Hanzo was merely confused. He slowly crept towards the woman, completely ready for any possible traps she could spring. As he got closer, Hanzo could clearly see that she was watching a fight on screen, or more specifically, the fight between Jack and Reaper.

“What… Are you doing?”

“I’m knitting a sweater.” She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “What does it look like I’m doing?!”

“Not what I anticipated to find, if I am being honest. I was under the assumption you would be trying to get in to the vault.” Hanzo flickered his eyes from the screen to Sombra, his attention still solely focused on the unpredictable Talon operative.

She grunted, pulling out a zip drive with glowing purple designs and a sugar skull printed on it. “I hacked into that ages ago.” She held the device to Hanzo, wagging it in the air impatiently when he didn’t grab it right away.

“Here.” She said with more insistence, “It’s not a virus or anything. Have your AI scan it if you don’t believe me. I promise all the information is there.”

Hanzo frowned, rolling a shoulder. His twin Dragon’s appeared, coiled around his neck and growling suspiciously at Sombra. To her credit, all she did was raise a perfectly manicured brow. Darting forward quickly, one of the Dragons snatched up the device before skittering back to its perch on Hanzo’s shoulder.

“What is your goal here? For what reasons do you offer the information your organization so clearly wants?”

Sombra rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. “I don’t care about Talon’s goals. I’m only here for my benefit and Talon just happened to have the connections I needed.”

“And giving Overwatch access to this helps you how?” Hanzo askes suspiciously.

“ _Gabe!!_ ” Came the yell from the security feed, an echo of silence falling soon after.

Hanzo’s eyes widened fractionally, snapping towards the screen. “Gabe”, he knew that name – or well the nickname. Jesse often mentioned stories of a “Gabe”, the former Blackwatch commander. However, he had supposedly died in the Swiss explosion. But then again, so had Jack, and he was clearly still alive and kicking.

Jabbing a thumb towards the screen, Sombra looked up at Hanzo. “That’s how. Boy Scout knows that Reaper is one Gabriel Reyes. And I have it on good authority that if things had been different, they may have been something more than ‘ _war buddies’_.” That was technically not true. If anything, Gabriel might’ve been stubborn enough to stay silent till his flower garden killed him. Or until Angela waved her doctor authority and forcibly had the flowers removed.

“And once again I ask, how does that help you?”

Sombra groaned, though it was more of the fact that the big bad Reaper was running away like he was being chased by a pack of wolves and those wolves were on fire.

“¿En serio? Gabi get your edgy but back there and talk to that man!”

She angrily clicked at the screen, switching between cameras in order to keep an eye on the two. Sombra huffed, going back to the conversation between her and Hanzo. “Think about it, amigo. If Boy Scout was able to get through to Gabi and get him to leave Talon, that’s one less baddy for you to worry about! Plus he’d be an extremely good ally! And then I wouldn’t have to worry about him getting involved with my plans.”

“Which are?”

“My plans of ‘ _none ya business’_.” She smirked at him, cackling.

Though he was still cautious, Hanzo gradually lowered his bow. His Dragons would attack should Sombra show any signs of hostility, so he wasn’t too worried about his safety. It was clear that Sombra was no threat, at least for now.

He gave a silent command, the Dragon holding the zip drive moving to his back and putting the device in a hidden pocket on his quiver. It then returned back to its perch, the two ethereal serpents watching the screen along with their host.

Hanzo’s brows furrowed at something that happened on screen that caused Sombra to snort. “Did Morrison really just throw his shoe?”

“Ha! Seems like it! Gabi must reeeally like him. I know if anyone else did that, they’d have a few bullet wounds to the gut by now.” Sombra’s giggling was cut off when her com beeped. She held up a finger to her lips before tapping it. “Sombra here.”

“Sombra, Reaper is not responding. Locate him and issue a retreat to the pick-up point for extraction. If you do not arrive within the next ten minutes, it is up to you to find your own way back.” Came Akande’s clipped tone.

Sombra hissed, “Right, got it. Tracking his com-link signature now.”

“Did you get the blueprints?”

The hacker looked at Hanzo, winked, and put on her most frustrated voice. “No, got intercepted by one of the Shimada. Currently hiding out while locating Reaps.”

Akande gave an annoyed sigh, but that was it, the man not allowing his growing anger to blind him. “Get Reaper and get back to the ship.”

“Yes sir!” Hanging up, she turned off the com-link and stood, closing her hand and turning off the screen. “Come on, we’ve got to go and pick up our old men before they bust a hip.”

Hanzo smirked, flicking his head towards where he had just came from. “Ladies first.”

Sombra gave a mock gasp, placing a hand over her heart. “Such a gentleman! You must be picking up on that southern charm.”

Instantly Hanzo’s smile fell, a scowl replacing it that was clearly more of a flustered look than one would think. The blush on the tips of his ears was what gave it away. “Never mind, I take it back. Potential enemies go first.”

Cackling, Sombra walked ahead. “Come on! Let’s hurry up before they try and kill each other. Or start making out.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well now that's school is over, I am allowed to dedicate my time to doing the things I love! Not much to say for this chapter, but I like it :> Thank you for your kudos and comments, they're greatly appreciated even if the comments just amount to word salad! Key smashing is very much ok xD Again thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

It was like a weight had slammed into his chest, the intense pressure forcing him to double over and cough harshly. It almost seemed like the very implication of killing Jack was enough to send his body into a revolt against him. The feeling of coughing the flowers up hurt more than usual.

His gun clattered to the floor, not that he seemed to notice. Reaper was clutching at his throat, entire body shaking from the force of his coughing.

“Gabe!”

Jack’s voice sounded distant to Reaper even though he knew Jack was right there. He felt himself slide to his knees, wheezing and gasping between the intense wracking of his frame. Reaper desperately clawed at his mask, completely forgoing the effort to disintegrating it simply out of the need to have it off **now**.

He ripped it from his face, chucking it as far as he could. Reaper arched his body while his hands braced against the floor, keeping him up as he heaved. A waterfall of petals and full blossoms spilled from his mouth, scattering across the floor. It was absolute torture feeling the flowers rip from his throat and drop from his dry lips. He just wanted them to stop, even if it for but a moment.

Reaper vaguely registered the fact that Jack had dropped down to kneel next to him. The soldier’s hands froze for a second before they began rubbing at Gabriel’s back. They were hesitant touches at first, almost like he was afraid of a hostile backlash, but after a few beats Jack grew more confident. He rubbed at Reaper’s back, unintentionally placing extra care into the tense muscles he felt.

Gradually the coughing subsided, the pain easing from Jack’s continuous rubbing. But then a new pain settled in the wraith’s chest, a pain he knew he couldn’t face just like he couldn’t in the past. His chest clenched uncomfortably, the urge to give in more potent than ever. To give in to the touches he had longed to feel for years. Reaper had craved Jack’s touch like a man starved of water. He had convinced himself that it was never possible to gain what he had lost when Overwatch fell. But then everything happened and now here he was, heart aching for the man beside him, the man who was metaphorically extending a hand to him. It was painful. Terrifying.

Closing his eyes tight, Reaper looked away, hoping the shadow of his hood could hide his face. “Jack…” He rasped, not even sure why he said the other man’s name. Perhaps it was just him unconsciously seeking reassurance that this wasn’t a cruel dream.

A gloved hand brushed against his cheek, cupping the scarred skin and easily coaxing him to turn his head. He couldn’t bring his eyes to look up at Jack, not until he heard the sound of the soldier unlatching his own mask and his name passing by those lips.

“Gabe.”

Reluctantly he let his crimson-hued gaze look up at Jack, but once he did his breath was stolen. Though Jack was obviously older, he still looked the same, just the addition of white hair and some new scars. He was giving Reaper the softest smile possible, it made the wraith feel like his heart had just jumpstarted in order to skip a beat.

A sigh left him, his brows creasing. He didn’t want to give in, he couldn’t. But oh how easy it would be to let himself be swept away by those beautiful blue eyes. To let himself accept being called that nickname, to let Gabriel Reyes live and let the Reaper die. It seemed like an easy and obvious choice, especially with the way Jack was looking at him. Reaper longed to be with the man, longed to fight beside him instead of against him. Reaper had enough of fighting against Jack, that’s what led to so many broken parts of their relationship.

“Gabe,” Jack softly murmured his name again, his other hand coming up to cup Reaper’s cheek. He brushed his thumbs along the dark, ashen skin. Jack’s eyes searched Reaper’s face, smile only growing at the look of the other. He chuckled, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Reaper’s. “You grew your hair out. Looks nice.”

Reaper made a choked sound, a ragged intake of air following quickly after. He closed his eyes tight, shaking hands coming up to rest over Jack’s. “I…”

The growing bubble of warmth between them was popped by the sound of hurried footsteps approaching. Reaper ripped away from Jack like he’d been burned, though he didn’t scoot away like he wanted to.

“Gabi! Rapido! We gotta skedaddle or be left behind!” Sombra said, rushing to his side. She glanced from the flowers to Jack, deciding not to say anything. Apparently shit happened while she hadn’t been watching the cameras.

Reaper huffed, either in relief or disappointment, he couldn’t tell. Now that Sombra was here and, with a quick glance he noticed that so was Hanzo, Reaper felt more grounded. He looked away from Jack, his mask materializing over his face, a symbolic way of representing the walls reforming around his heart. An unreadable look passed over Jack’s face before he too replaced his mask.

The two soldiers stood, Sombra helping Reaper more than he let on. She settled against his side, watching him with a slightly worried look. “Think you can make it back to the dropship?” She whispered, chewing on her bottom lip.

Reaper sighed, shrugging off her hold a little more gently than usual. He was still feeling all mixed up from his briefly warm moment with Jack. Flexing his hands, Reaper let out another gruff sigh.

“I’ll live.” He glanced at Hanzo, looking back at Sombra. “I didn’t realize you were making friends with the enemy.”

“Friend is a strong word I would not use to describe our relationship.” Hanzo piped up dryly.

Sombra snickered, bumping her hip against Reaper’s. “Prickly Shimada aside, can you really call ‘em enemies when you’ve got the hots for one of them?”

Reaper stared at her, his blank mask only emphasizing his distaste for her comment. He brushed past Sombra, wondering if he could get to the drop ship in time to leave her behind. It’d be a welcome silence until she made it back to Talon’s base.

“Wait, Gabe!” Jack’s hand snatched out, grabbing Reaper by his arm and keeping him from moving another step.

Just then Sombra’s communicator beeped, Akande’s voice coming through. “ _Sombra, have you located Reaper_?”

She was quick to place a hand to the communicator, putting false cheer in her tone. “Yep! Found him! Spooks and I are heading over now!”

After quickly muting the communicator, Sombra grimaced. “We gotta go now or Akande really will leave us behind.”

When Reaper tried to shake off Jack’s hand, the damn soldier wouldn’t budge. Reaper glared at him, shaking his arm with a little more emphasis. “Let go, Jack.”

“We still need to talk.” Though he couldn’t see Jack’s expression, Jack had a feeling he was being glared at with an equal amount of stubbornness.

“Yeah ok! You two can talk later!” Sombra said, stepping between the two and shoving Reaper’s back to go one way. “I put my contact information in that zip drive I gave you!” She said to Hanzo, still shoving at Reaper. “Just use it to get into contact with me. We can set up a meeting then!”

Reaper stumbled from a particularly hard shove, hissing and purposefully stopping. He swatted Sombra’s hands away, levelling her with his glare. “Is shoving really necessary?”

“Well you aren’t moving!”

Jack reluctantly watched them go, everything in him screaming to go after the wraith. To drag him back to Gibraltar so they could just sit and finally _talk_. But that would be counterproductive, even he knew that. It still didn’t mean he wanted to give it a try though.

Hanzo placing a hand on his shoulder snapped Jack from his thoughts. Looking at the archer, he watched as Hanzo held up the zip drive. “We should go,” He paused before adding, “Before the police arrive or our team gets worried.”

The soldier stiffly nodded, hands clenching tight. “… Right. Let’s head back the way we came. I left my Pulse Rifle in the hall.”

“Understood.”

//

“Gabi.”

“No.”

Sombra clicked her tongue, crossing her arms over her chest. It had been almost a week since their last run in with Overwatch, both Talon and the organization laying low after the recent failure. She glared at Reaper’s back, tapping her foot impatiently. He was lying on his cot in his room, shoulders hunched and radiating a hostile air warning anything with a sense of self-preservation to stay away. Tragic that Sombra had the tendency to throw caution to the wind.

“Are you seriously not going to consider a possible meeting? Come on Gabi, I know you want this! Just look at the-!”

“If you bring up those fucking flowers, I’m going to rip your lungs out.” The growl that followed the promise was chilling.

Biting back a grimace, Sombra sighed. She moved over and sat at the foot of the bed. “Gabriel… Look, I know you’re feeling upset. Or confused. Maybe both. But you seriously can’t mope about it. Everyone’s noticed something’s off about you, they’re just too smart to say it to your face. But it’ll only be a matter of time before Akande demands answers.”

Reaper sighed, closing his eyes and finally relaxing his posture. “What do you want me to say, Sombra? That I want to go back to Jack’s side? That I’d throw away all I had built up just to be with him? Become an enemy to Talon, bring more awareness to an organization that should be dead, is that what I should do? The media would have a field day, ‘ _the revived organization Overwatch now recruiting known terrorists’_.” Reaper snorted humorlessly, “Give me a break.”

Sombra chuckled, stretching out so her back was laying against the expanse of Reaper’s legs. “I mean you could always just change your costume and go by a new name. And didn’t they hire criminals in the past? That’s not so different.”

“No, Blackwatch recruited them, Overwatch just looked the other way.” Reaper didn’t even twitch at the added weight against him. It was a reoccurring thing that happened more often than not. He would somehow end up always being a cushion or bed for someone to nap on. Happened back in Blackwatch and it still seemed to happen here.

Sombra hummed, opening up a few screens and typing away at them. “But you know Jack would stick up for you if you decided to join. Maybe even the cowboy and ninja. You were very important to them, after all. Can’t say the same for the others, though.”

“Out of all those you listed, only one knows that the Reaper is Gabriel Reyes. And the last time I encountered anyone I used to know, I was trying to put a bullet in their back.” Reaper rubbed an ungloved hand over his face, another sigh leaving his tired body.

He had ditched his heavy cloak and clingy pants, instead wearing lose and comfortable clothes. It wasn’t like he intended to leave the room like this. In fact, no one has seen him out of anything but his usual attire. Only a few, like Sombra and Moira, have. But while one was because she’d constantly hack into his door and let herself in, the other was for medical examinations.

Sombra laughed, waving a hand dismissingly. “Details, details! I’m sure he’d forgive you! Seems like the kind of guy to not hold grudges.”

A silence fell between them, neither having anything else to add. The only sound was Sombra’s screens letting out little chimes when they were typed on or something was swiped.

Hesitating, Sombra glanced at him from the corner of her eye, lowering her hands. “You know… If you did decide to leave Talon, I’d go with you. As moral support. That way you won’t be the only one they don’t trust. We can be in the ‘ _Traitors to Talon’_ club together.”

Her attempt at humor was met with a weary chuckle. Reaper nudged her back with his leg, turning slightly in order to be able to look at her. “And what about your plans? I know you’re only a part of Talon to meet your own ends, Sombra. You’re not as subtle as you think.”

Sombra shrugged, “Eh, I was never trying to be. Let’s the bigwigs remember that I can fuck with their shit whenever I want. They’re more eager to give me free-reign and not upset me if they know I’m not loyal to them, not completely anyways.”

She closed her screens and leaned back against Reaper’s legs even further, practically draping herself over him. “But you know, I already have little bombs in place. All I need to do is send in the codes and I fuck up every piece of information they have that I gathered for them. I always put a little booby trap in the code just as a failsafe. If Talon tries to fuck with me, I’ll ruin them from the inside.”

Reaper didn’t even seem surprised at this revelation, nor did he seem worried that Sombra’s confession might’ve been picked up by any possible bugs. He had a feeling that she’d already scrambled any of the potential bugs the moment she set foot into his room. It’s the only reason why Reaper was comfortable enough to even be having this conversation.

“Lot of planning put into it, huh?”

“Of course!” Sombra grinned, “I’ve got no loyalty to anyone but myself! And maybe you. I like you a little too much to screw you over.”

“Gee, how kind of you.” Came his dry response.

Sombra gave him a little shove, “But! That’s exactly why I’m helping you now! Gabi, you want to stop coughing up those flowers, right? And without getting them surgically removed? Well then join Overwatch and seduce the man! Throw out that sweet Reyes charm! I know you still have it.”

Reaper rolled his eyes and huffed, “You know I can’t just drop everything, Sombra. And there’s no guarantee that Overwatch would even want me back, especially not when they have people in it that I personally shot at.”

“You’ve got a point there, but you gotta keep in mind that Overwatch isn’t the same as when everything was literally blowing up in your face.”

“But it isn’t the organization I helped create, either.” Reaper fired back.

Sombra merely shrugged, a subtle beep on her screen catching her attention. “True, but maybe you should take that as a reason to be more optimistic. You’d pretty much be doing the same thing you’re doing here, just… Less terrorism.”

He frowned, she had a point. Plus this could lower the risk of many things. Like having to justify how it wasn’t just Jack that continued to survive encounters with him, but also Genji and Jesse. Of course Moira knew he was soft of the boys, even now, but she didn’t say anything because it didn’t interest her pursuits.

“I’ll think about it…” Reaper finally mumbled. It was all he could do at this point.

Sombra hummed a little too cheerily, “Well you’re going to have to think quick. Just got a response from Overwatch. They want to set up a meeting, the sooner the better. They suggested two nights from now in an old Blackwatch safe house.”

“Wait, what?!” Reaper launched up into a sitting position, reaching out for the screen. He cursed when his fingers passed through, forgetting that only Sombra’s cybernetic nails could mess with her holograms.

Rolling her eyes as at his sudden actions, Sombra turned the screen so he could see it. “We’ll have to sneak out, I can easily mess with security and give us a window. But it’ll take us a bit to reach the safe house, especially if we don’t leave till tomorrow. We might be late if we don’t leave now.”

He cursed again, rubbing a hand down his face. “It’s a tactic. Give us less time to prepare and form a plan for a trap. Who’s going to be showing up to this meeting?”

Taking back the screen, Sombra scrolled down. “Let’s see. We’ve got one Jack Morrison, figured that’d happen. One Ana Amari, ooh how much you want to bet that she’ll scold you?” At the unamused look she received, Sombra giggled but continued scrolling. “Then we’ve got Winston and Ziegler joining them. They’ll probably have more stashed away as backup, but that’s to be expected since they probably don’t trust us.”

“That goes both ways.” He grumbled, sliding off his bed. In one smooth motion his clothes rippled with inky blackness before morphing into his usual attire. The wraith huffed, swallowing down the light cough tickling the back of his throat. “Get ready. We’re leaving.”

Sombra scrambled to stand, closing her screens and rushing to the door. “Geez, at least give me a chance to get ready! I’ll need a change of clothes, too! Not everyone can just make clothes out of smoke, you know.”

He ignored her jab, not moving until the door had closed behind her. Reaper would wait for Sombra to return to his room, then they’d set off for this meeting. He lifted a hand, running it through his hair before yanking his hood up. The fleeting thought of sprucing himself up a bit had his mood turning sour. Jack had literally seen him after he’d vomited flowers up, there was nothing to hide. And both Winston and Ana weren’t a concern, sort of. Obviously they wouldn’t trust him, not like Jack was willing to do. But could you blame them? Even he didn’t trust himself at this point.

He knew what he wanted, but he was equal parts terrified and hopeful at the prospect. Reaper regretted very little of the choices he made. One by one he was taking out those within Overwatch that had been the reason for its fall, for the reason his family was broken with many dead in the ground. Reaper also knew that Talon had a hand in aiding the fall of Overwatch, but he had had a plan for that. Reaper knew that when his goal of eliminating all of the traitorous Overwatch members was over, that he would set his sights on Talon. Though he had a feeling even Talon knew this. Akande wasn’t stupid, he knew that Reaper had no real loyalty to Talon, just like Sombra didn’t. They would only keep Reaper around until he was no longer useful, then they’d try to get rid of him.

Reaper had no intention of going down easily, but even he knew he wasn’t invincible. Who knows if he could die? Not even Moira, the cause of his eternally half-dead state, knew the extent of her experiment. No matter how many tests she ran, she’d always find something new to gawk at. So who’s to say that Reaper really is invincible?

And if he really does die, would he rather die with the knowledge that his friends that are still alive hate him to the very core? Would he be satisfied knowing that he died as their enemy despite having the chance to have once again been their friend? No, he wouldn’t be ok with that, not when he truly thought about it. Reaper could pretend all he want and act like it truly doesn’t matter to him; that he has cut off all attachment to the past, but even he knows that’s not true. The flowers would never let him forget about the past, especially now.

Sighing, Reaper closed his eyes and sat back down on the edge of his bed. He already knew his answer, it was surprising how little thought he had to put into it. Reaper would rather die by his friends than fight against them, he’d always been like that, even when he felt like everyone else was working against him. They might not trust him, especially if he’s so quick to ditch Talon for them. But that’s ok too, at least he wouldn’t be working against them. If Overwatch doesn’t take him in, then he’s fine working on his own. At least that way he doesn’t have rules to follow when it comes to eliminating his enemies. And even then, he might not be on his own. If Sombra was true to her word then she’d follow him every step of the way. That thought brought some form of comfort to him, even if it was only a miniscule amount.

But before he could finalize a decision, Reaper had to ask himself one thing. Was he seriously ready to be Gabriel Reyes again?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They attempt to negotiate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the absence since my last update! Got distracted by the anniversary event. Honestly at this rate you can assume that any time an Overwatch event is going on, I'll end up distracted by it and neglect my fics. But nonetheless, thank you for being patient with me, hopefully you enjoy this chapter!

“Do you have your escape route planned?” Reaper asked as the two of them drew closer to the Blackwatch safe house.

“Yep!” Sombra said, popping her ‘p’, “I placed my translocator within range. So if things turn sour, I can just zip out of there. And you?”

Reaper snorted, “I know Blackwatch’s safe houses like the back of my hand. I can just slip out through one of the cracks or vents.”

Sombra made a sound of acknowledgement, “Aaah right. Helps that you’re able to turn into a gas cloud! Just remember this time that you can do that, ok?”

Ignoring the teasing tone, Reaper continued leading them through the shadows towards the safe house. They had arrived a bit earlier than the designated time, but not by enough that it’d be significant. They had easily slipped out of Talon’s headquarters, the two of them snatching a boat and travelling towards the safe house.

The trip had been grating on Reaper’s already frayed nerves. At one point he almost threw Sombra over the edge of the boat when she started to sing the lyrics to some sea shanty. When he had managed to grab her with the intent to toss her, Sombra had been able to convince him not to, but only barely. He already had to deal with vomiting flowers on their little trip, he didn’t want to have to deal with other annoyances on top of that.

The two of them had made it to their destination tired, hungry, and rightfully exasperated. In order to avoid detection, Reaper and Sombra had donned on disguises. Before they left the boat they had changed, Reaper simply morphing his clothes into a hoody and ragged jeans. He had stood watch while Sombra changed on the boat, the woman cursing at the low lighting and slipping a few times.

When she was done, now dressed in a deep, eggplant-shade jacket and her own pair of jeans, Sombra pulled her hood over her head and stood next to Reaper. She shouldered her backpack and waited for him to pull his own hood up before they set off.

With some time to spare, they had made a quick stop at a public shower, Sombra insisting on getting clean. They then got something to eat on the way before sneaking aboard a bullet train. It took another three hours to get even remotely close to their destination and even then they still had to walk for a while longer.

Now that they were here, Reaper was tenser than he had been on the journey over. He was pacing back and forth, agitated expression hidden behind his mask. Reaper had changed back into his usual clothes the moment he had confirmed that the safe house had yet to be compromised. It was more of a physical barrier than one of comfort. He needed some form of defense against this meeting with his old friends, even if it wasn’t a really good one.

“You’re going to carve a path in the floor if you keep pacing like that.” Sombra grunted from where she sat, cheek pressed against the back of a dusty, moth-eaten couch.

Reaper glared at her without much bite, huffing. He rolled his shoulders, flexing his hands and forcing himself to calm down. It wouldn’t do them any good if he was tense and having an internal break down before the meeting even started. He needed to keep his wits about him if he wanted this to go smoothly.

A familiar ache in his chest and throat had Reaper moving over to the lone trash can in the room. He ripped off his mask, squatting over the thing as he began coughing up a handful of flowers. Sombra watched him spit up a few more, concern clear in the way her brows creased and her lips tugged down into a frown.

“Hey… Gabi?” She asked when he straightened up.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Reaper glanced at her. “What?”

She bit her lip, fiddling with a stray thread on the couch. “What’re you gonna do if Overwatch refuses to let us join?”

“Then we go rogue, simple as that.” Reaper grunted, replacing his mask and moving over to sit next to her. He bit back a sneeze at the cloud of dust that billowed out the moment his weight settled down on the couch. “No point in working for Talon, not when they’ll probably kill us after this is all over. Better to get out now before they find something to use against us. And after this… I don’t think I’d be able to go against Overwatch even if I tried. Pathetic, isn’t it? The meeting hasn’t even started and already I’m ready to come crawling back to Jack’s side.”

A grin broke out along Sombra’s face. She cooed, scooting over and bringing Reaper into a reluctant hug. “Aww Gabi! That’s so adorable!! Look at you having an emotion other than brooding and angst! I’m proud of you!”

At that he shoved her off, scowling. “Don’t know why I even bothered saying anything.”

Sombra’s laugh tapered off into something softer, as did her expression. Nudging Reaper’s shoulder with her own, she gave him a lopsided smile. “Hey, I’m serious, you know? I really am proud of you. And whatever choice you make, just know I got your back.”

Reaper mirrored Sombra’s smile, though she couldn’t see it. With a sigh he reached up, ruffling her hair and ignoring her squawk of surprise. “Thanks, brat.”

Sombra puffed out her cheeks, but the affronted look didn’t last long as she burst out into a light spiel of giggles. Leaning back in the chair, Sombra hummed. “You’re welcome.”

It took another thirty minutes before they heard the sound of the door opening from the room upstairs. Sombra had reclined in the chair, feet propped up on Reaper’s lap while she messed around on her screens. Reaper had been staring off into space, formulating scenario after scenario in his head before the movement snapped him from a particularly depressing thought.

They heard the shuffling upstairs, different weights making different levels of sound. Reaper straightened up to stand, Sombra staying in her relaxed position. However she did close her screens, both of them watching the stairs leading up from the basement.

From the sound of it, the people upstairs were doing a quick sweep of the first floor, just as Reaper and Sombra had done. When that was finished, it was no surprise that they would next make their way to the basement. Jack was the first to come down, cautious and poised to dodge at the first instance of hostility.

“It’s about time you showed up!” Sombra said, causing Jack to jump slightly. She grinned, seeming pleased with the reaction.

Jack huffed, relaxing his stance after giving a quick glance around the single-room basement. He looked up the stairs, waving a hand. “They’re here.”

It was a slow and interesting process to watch a large gorilla try and amble down the set of stone stairs. By the time everyone was on the basement floor, the tense atmosphere had amplified. Reaper wasn’t looking at any of the Overwatch members in front of him while they stared at Reaper as if trying to collectively burn his mask off with their gazes alone.

Rolling her eyes at the silence, Sombra loudly cleared her throat. She moved to a normal sitting position, quirking a brow. “Alright, so what gives for calling this meeting?” She had an idea but it’d be better to hear them say it.

Winston huffed, adjusting his glasses before pulling out a little disk-like device. He set it down on the old coffee table between them. “Athena? If you’d please.”

“Of course,” Came the robotic voice. A blue ball appeared from the device, floating up and scanning the room. It sunk back down before beeping and a small light turning green. “Scan complete, there are no listening devices of any sort placed within the room that has not already been authorized before this mission.”

“Thank you.” Winston took the device back, settling down to sit on the floor. He huffed, looking from Sombra to Reaper. He cleared his throat, “Well… We called this meeting for two reasons. One is because of this,” He gestured to Ana who held up the zip drive Sombra had given Hanzo, “And the other is about… Gabriel.”

Reaper tensed, crossing his arms over his chest and biting the inside of his cheek. He made no move to join the conversation even when he could feel Jack’s eyes boring into the side of his face.

Sombra huffed, leaning back in the chair. “Well I’m guessing you looked at it since that’s the only way you would’ve been able to contact me directly. Let’s knock that out of the way before we get into his problems.” She said, gesturing vaguely to the wraith.

“Right,” Winston glanced at Reaper several times, clearly still in disbelief that this was Gabriel Reyes. It wasn’t that long ago that said wraith had broken into Gibraltar and had almost gotten vital information. He was still rather cross about the whole thing, if he was being honest.

“Athena and I have combed over every bit of this zip drive that Hanzo has given us. Forgive me, but I still can’t help but be suspicious even when everything you said checked out.” Winston fiddled with his glasses in a nervous gesture. “I would like a more elaborate explanation on your motives, if you’d please.”

Sombra sighed, scooting forward. “Look, it’s just like I told your little Robbin Hood. I’ve got barely any loyalty to Talon, I’m only with them to reach my own goals and because I actually enjoy the company of this ghostly butt.” She said, jabbing a thumb in Reaper’s direction. “And because I care about him more than Talon, I’m more than willing to defect along with him.”

“Defect?” The Overwatch members collectively looked at Reaper. Winston seemed to mull over that admission, a small frown tugging at his lips. “Is this true… Er…?” He trailed off, unsure if he should address the wraith as Reaper or Gabriel.

It was silent for a moment before Reaper sighed. His shoulders sagged and he finally looked up at those across from him. With barely noticeable hesitation, Reaper reached up and pushed his hood back, removing his mask a moment after. This was finally it, the physical barrier he associated Reaper with, finally being removed. It was both an exhilarating and confusing feeling, almost made him feel sick. This was different from all the other times he had taken off his mask. This time it was permanent, there was no going back after this.

The air changed the moment his face was exposed, undiscernible and an amalgamation of different emotions. Gabriel watched tiredly as varying expressions passed across the faces he could see. Because Jack was wearing his visor, Gabriel could only discern his feelings from his body language. Jack’s hands were gripping his arms tightly, almost like he was trying to keep himself from reaching out to Gabriel. Ana didn’t look too surprised, as she had been aware that it was Gabriel ever since their last encounter. She was watching him with a small, exhausted smile though.

Winston and Angela were a different matter, Winston’s expression turning from disbelief to anger before settling on sorrow. Angela looked simply stricken, disbelief and frustration painting her features.

“All this time… And it really was you?” She asked, voice barely a whisper.

Gabriel gave a halfhearted shrug, huffing lightly in order to curb the urge to cough. He stiffened when she took a step towards him, hands raised like she was caught between wanting to strangle him and wanting to hug him.

Ana reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder seemed to quell Angela’s immediate anger, though not by much. He wasn’t entirely sure why she was suddenly pissed, but he had a feeling it had something to do with learning that one of the friends she had assumed was dead, wasn’t really. She probably had a lot of emotions going through her, especially since Ana and Jack weren’t dead either. Learning that Gabriel was also alive must’ve been like a slap to the face to those who had attended his funeral.

“Ok…” Winston said cautiously, clearly trying to rapidly piece everything together. “As much as I want to believe this is happening… How do we know completely that you are Gabriel Reyes?”

Rolling his eyes, Gabriel rested his hip against the side of the couch. “Near the end of the Omnic crisis I made frequent trips to Angela because I was suffering from a terminal disease. Only she, Damien, and McCree were aware of my sickness at the time.”

Angela almost seemed to flinch when multiple eyes turned to her. Hesitating for a moment, Angela nodded her head slowly. “He’s right…”

Winston’s frown was mirrored by Ana, the woman speaking up for the first time since the meeting started. “What’s the disease?”

Moving from where he stood, Gabriel picked up the trash can that he had previously coughed into. The wraith then went back over and dropped it onto the lone table between them.

“Hanahaki disease.”

Angela didn’t even hesitate before she was rushing forward and grabbing the trashcan, looking inside. She gasped, gaze snapping back up to look at Gabriel.

“You’re still coughing these up?! After all this time?!” Angela’s question was more of a demand, the angel of mercy clearly wanting answers.

Shrugging his shoulders, Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. “Seems like.”

She dropped the trash can back on the table and made a few aborted motions before letting out a sound of frustration. “I need my medical supplies, I have to see how severe the growth has gotten.”

“It’s fine, doc.” Gabriel sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t really need to breathe anymore these days. It’s just a force of habit to take in air.”

“Hold on a moment,” Winston held up his hand, frowning deeply. “What exactly is Hanahaki disease?”

Angela straightened, reciting the known information with the usual amount of emotional detachment doctors were known for. “Hanahaki disease, a rare and fatal sickness that has led many to believe it is simply a myth because it is so uncommon. It is not contagious, as the disease is brought about by unrequited love. Flowers will bloom within the lungs of those afflicted by the sickness until they suffocate from the blossoms and die. The only known ways to remove the disease are to either surgically get the roots removed or to have the love returned. Because it is so rare, not much research has been done on it.”

Those who were unaware of this information slowly took a few minutes to digest it. Winston had a slightly horrified and intrigued look, almost like he wanted to do further research on this strange disease. Ana had a sympathetic look in her one lone eye, lips tugged down into a frown.

“Oh Gabriel… All this time?” She asked, voice soft.

He stiffly nodded, arms crossed over his chest. Oh how he wanted to hide behind his mask, but he couldn’t. He had chosen to put away the persona of Reaper and become Gabriel Reyes. He could not don on that mask again, he wouldn’t allow it.

Jack’s head lowered, hands clenched into tight fists. He seemed to be shaking from barely contained emotions, Gabriel wondered what they might be. “Gabe… Why didn’t you say anything?” The raw grief in his tone was unexpected, but Gabriel didn’t outwardly show he was affected. When Jack looked up at him, Gabriel kept the same impassive expression he’d worn since he removed his mask. “All this time… If you had just said something we could’ve-.”

“Could’ve done what, Jackie?” Giving a humorless snort, Gabriel shook his head. “There was never a good time and you know it. By the time shit went up in smoke, there was no point. That day the Swiss base blew up, I knew my time was up. Those flowers would’ve probably killed me if we did get out in time.”

“You could’ve grabbed me at any time and said something!” Jack snapped, stepping forward. “You didn’t have to be so stubborn and keep this all to yourself!”

“I didn’t keep it to myself.”

Jack growled, “Cut the crap! I know you wouldn’t have told anyone anything if given the option! You would’ve just let it continue until you actually did die from it!”

He wasn’t wrong, Gabriel would’ve let that happen. Hell, even with Angela, Damien, and Jesse knowing, he still kept it to himself and refused to do anything about it. Of course he had been stubborn, but at the time he really had no chance to even think about confessing. Not when he was running Blackwatch and not when the drift between him and Jack gradually got bigger and bigger until a bottomless canyon stretched between them. There just never seemed to be a good chance to confess, in his opinion. Maybe it was because he was a closet romantic at heart, who knows? Too late now.

Rolling his eyes, Gabriel snorted and smirked at Jack. “Well you’re right about that, so what? It’s not like it matters now.”

“Of course it matters! Gabe-”

Cutting him off with a glare, Gabriel clicked his tongue. “I’m not here to talk about my sickness, Boy Scout. That’s not why this meeting was called. So be a good little soldier and don’t get off topic.”

 “You stubborn piece of-!” Jack made a step forward but stopped when Ana smacked the back of his head.

“Enough, you are both acting like children. Gabriel, don’t antagonize him. You are lucky there is a table between us otherwise I would smack you as well.” Ana threatened, single eye hardened into a stern glare.

Gabriel opened his mouth to retort, but the sound of shuffling upstairs caused him to still. Everyone in the room tensed, hands reaching towards where weapons usually sat, only to come up short. Out of all those here, Gabriel was the only one who could produce weapons. His hands twitched to do just that, but he refrained. It would do no good to summon weapons and cause more tension than needed, even if he wanted to.

There was a thud and angry whispering, the words far clearer in the silence. “ _Jesse you are going to give us away_.”

“ _They ain’t gonna know we’re here if ya keep quiet_!”

“ _I’m a ninja, I’m always quiet_!”

“ _Well you ain’t bein’ quiet now_!”

Gabriel couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh in amusement or frown in disappointment. Were those two serious? Countless time spent in Blackwatch and they still couldn’t do something as simple as a little stealth? Then again nowadays Jesse didn’t seem capable of “ _subtly_ ”, his entire outfit being a great example. Gabriel leaves him alone for several years and already the fool was dressing like the stereotypical cowboy. It was downright tragic.

“ _Can ya hear anything_?” Jesse whispered, the shuffling pausing. Gabriel assumed they were standing at the door, probably with their ears pressed up against the side of it.

“ _No, maybe they’re whispering_?”

Rubbing at his face, Gabriel finally let himself snicker at the ridiculousness of the entire situation. Ana seemed just as amused as Gabriel, her smile light as she watched Gabriel giggling behind his hands. Angela shared her soft look while Winston was shaking his head in fond exasperation. Jack’s expression was hidden behind his visor, but he seemed to be just as amused as Gabriel.

Sombra raised her brow, a smirk tugging at her lips. She glanced up at Gabriel, “I thought you said they were the best undercover operatives in Blackwatch.”

“I thought so too.” Gabriel wheezed, shoulders shaking with his barely contained mirth. God how long has it been since he’s laughed like this? It was exhilarating and left him a little lightheaded.

Sighing, Winston shook his head, “Are these rooms soundproofed?”

“Blackwatch base, everything is soundproofed.” Gabriel wheezed between giggles. “It’s designed so that outside of these rooms you can’t hear shit, but inside you can hear whatever goes on beyond that door.”

Winston snorted and pulled out the device he had used earlier to have Athena scan the room. “Athena, could you contact Zenyatta for me, please?”

“Of course.” There was a beep and a click, Zenyatta’s voice filtering through the device.

“ _Zenyatta here. How may I be of assistance?_ ” There was banging in the background followed by furious cursing, though it was rather muffled.

Winston sighed, “Zenyatta, forgive my bluntness, but were you not given explicit orders to keep an eye on Genji?”

Zenyatta made a sound, “ _Ah, yes I was. And I had been dutifully following my orders. But currently I am unable to keep an eye on Genji, let alone locate him_.”

“Why is that?”

“ _I am currently locked in a room in the alley Genji and I had been occupying_.” Zenyatta chuckled lightly, “ _I had managed to keep Genji in check, but when Jesse arrived I was quickly overpowered._ ”

Winston ran a hand over his face, groaning softly. He pinched the bridge of his nose, “And what of Agent Shimada? I find it hard to believe that he would let McCree out of his sight.”

“ _Oh! No he was right behind Jesse just as I was locked in. He is right here with me, though he is not in any state of mind to talk right now. I believe he is contemplating all the ways he intends to skin Jesse. I cannot say I disagree with him on this. I am very disappointed in Genji_.” It was then that the cursing in the background came out more clearly, the language being Japanese. The banging still had not let up, though a duel set of heavy growls began to pick up on Zenyatta’s com-link.

There was varying expressions from the Overwatch operatives before them. Sombra took great delight in the many faces made, the hacker joining Gabriel in his cackling. The wraith still hadn’t stopped laughing, his cheeks hurting from how hard he was grinning. This was just too priceless!

Winston took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Right. Hold tight for a few minutes longer, I’ll send Lena to get you.”

“ _Yes, thank you_!”

When the device beeped, Winston closed his eyes and took off his glasses. He rubbed his face again, sighing. “Athena please contact Lena and send her to Hanzo and Zenyatta’s location.”

“Of course.”

Putting the device away, Winston nodded his head towards Ana. “May as well let them in.”

Ana rolled her eye, sauntering over to the stairs and moving up them silently. She then yanked open the door, sidestepping just as Jesse and Genji came tumbling in. The two skidded down the stairs, landing in a heap of limbs on the floor.

“Glad you boys could join us.” Ana griped, moving back down the steps.

She stepped over the two former Blackwatch operatives and, instead of taking back her place standing next to Jack, she moved around the table and sat in the chair next to Sombra. Ana huffed, leaning back and muttering under her breath.

Gabriel sighed through his nose, finally quelling his laughter in order to level the two men a look of disappointment. “I seriously thought I taught you two better than that.”

That got Genji and Jesse to scramble up from where they lay. They both stared at Gabriel, Jesse being the only one to have a visible reaction.

“Well butter my backside and call me a biscuit...” Jesse breathed, brows furrowed. He slowly pulled himself up, taking a hesitant step towards Gabriel. “You… You…!” Jesse’s eyes hardened in anger and he pointed an accusing finger at Gabriel. “Estas mintiendo hijo de tu puta madre!”

Gabriel seemed unfazed by the language while Sombra choked on her spit, the woman trying hard to not laugh. “Watch your mouth,” Was all Gabriel said.

“Shove it, you fucking bastard!!” Jesse spat. The only thing keeping him from advancing any closer to Gabriel was Genji’s hand gripping his bicep.

“Jesse, we did not come here to fight!” He hissed, stealing quick glances at Gabriel.

“You two weren’t supposed to be here in the first place.” Jack growled, arms crossed over his chest.

Jesse scowled, shrugging off Genji’s hold but not making any moves to charge Gabriel again. “Well excuse me for disobeying orders.”

“We just wanted to see if it really was Reyes.” Genji pipped up, having the decency to appear sheepish at the scolding look Ana threw him.

It was clear Genji had changed from his Blackwatch days. No longer was he a depressed, broken man wielding a sword. Now he seemed to be doing heaps better, more relaxed than before. Gabriel knew he was doing _somewhat_ better, especially since Hanzo had joined their ragtag group of misfits, but it was another thing entirely to see it in person.

Winston sighed, “You two were given clear orders to not interfere with this meeting, let alone be anywhere near it. You were to keep to the perimeter and check in if you saw anything suspicious. And not only that, but you locked Zenyatta and Hanzo up in a closet? What would you do if we got ambushed because Talon operatives slipped through where you four were supposed to be out posted?”

The two ducked their heads, “Ah… So ya called ‘em?”

“I contacted Zenyatta first. We just happened to hear Hanzo in the background.” Winston informed, giving the two of them a pointed look.

Ana snorted, “You two better start running after this meeting.”

This caused everyone to look at her in mild confusion. At the stares she received, Ana rolled her eye and clicked her tongue, muttering something under her breath. Waving a hand, she sighed. “Hanzo and Zenyatta are polite enough to not butt into this meeting just to beat Jesse and Genji senseless. They’ll have the courtesy to wait till we are done.”

Winston bit back another sigh, clearly reluctant to let Genji and Jesse stay. Still, they had already wasted precious time dealing with this little set back. Putting his glasses back on, Winston shook out his shoulders.

“Alright. Let’s get back to business.” He said, focusing his attention back on Sombra.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Local hacker leads negotiations like a queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the wait! Here's a new chapter, though sorry if it lacks in "substance" as one might call it. It is plot related, sure, but I'd say it only moves it by a few inches, sorry for that :'D Next chapter should be better! Also I started school again but I shouldn't be too overwhelmed. My third year in University :U Most of my classes are English related since my major and minor are both related to English in a way. So yeah... We'll see how that goes. I expect to be doing a loooot of writing :u Hm.... Anyways, thanks for reading!!

“Let’s cut to the chase. What exactly is it that you want to get out of this meeting?” Winston asked the hacker.

Quirking a brow, Sombra pursed her lips. “Me personally? Nothing. Well that’s not technically true. I want access to certain things, but that’s ok, they aren’t that important. If you agree then I’ll expand on them further. For now I don’t want anything. I’m basically here as back up support for Gabi.”

Winston nodded slowly, “Alright. And what would that be exactly?”

“If you’re willing, allow us to join the new Overwatch.” Gabriel said, already expecting the shocked reactions.

“Wait, what?” Angela gasped, “Join Overwatch?”

“Aren’t you the one goin’ out and shootin’ former members?” Jesse scowled from where he stood.

He was leaning against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest and ridiculous cowboy hat tilted over his eyes, shrouding everything but his mouth from view. Genji was standing beside him, also leaning against the wall but in a more relaxed manner. Gabriel had a feeling he was next to Jesse as a form of comfort, either that or to possibly keep him from charging at Gabriel again.

Biting back an exasperated sigh, Gabriel settled on the arm of the chair next to Ana, hesitating at first before sitting down. She didn’t seem bothered by his close proximity, instead offering him a small smile and reaching out to pat his knee. It made something in his chest clench, a wave of nostalgia warming him up from the inside out.

Clearing his throat, Gabriel leveled a look at those across from him. “Yes, I have been. But with good reason.”

“Name one.” Jesse clicked his tongue.

“They were “lose ends” that Talon wanted cleaned up. It was something I agreed with, especially after what they’d done.”

Realization dawned in Ana’s single eye, her lips parting slightly. Various forms of realization passed over the other members, though Jack was the first to speak.

“You really were taking out the ones that destroyed our family.” His voice was rough with an unnamed emotion.

“I said I would and I did, dying was just a minor setback.”

Angela frowned, sorrow weighing down her shoulders. “Oh Gabriel… I understand you wanted revenge, but Talon was the one to break us on the inside from the start of it. Isn’t joining them like an insult to the many good men and women that have died because of Talon?”

Gabriel didn’t flinch, he’d already had this argument with himself. Over and over again he had asked himself the same thing. Was he betraying his family, both dead and still alive, by joining Talon? It had haunted him for ages until he had finally decided to accept the invitation and join Talon’s ranks. He had to do it, there was no other choice.

“They gave me information I couldn’t get otherwise.” He said, not an ounce of regret in his tone. If he was given the same opportunities, he’d take them again and again. Rarely did Gabriel regret the decisions he made.

Sombra glanced at Gabriel before looking back at Winston, “But joining Talon has its limits. They don’t trust Gabi just as much as they don’t trust me, if not more. We’re both involved in Talon for our own benefit, Talon knows this. They kept Gabi close enough to keep an eye on him, ready to dispatch him in case he defaults. He was allowed to take out former Overwatch members but at the cost of having a tight leash. The fact that Gabi and I are close bothers Talon a whole bunch.”

Winston nodded at this, rubbing at his chin. “Because you two are unpredictable. Your loyalties were never with Talon, that’s what bothers them. You would be able to defect at any time because your goals don’t line up with theirs, not entirely anyways. And they’ve no doubt come to the conclusion that if one of you defects, the other is bound to follow.”

“Yep! And by now they’re going to realize that we’ve disappeared and gone off the grid. Akande’s going to know right away that we’re not coming back. They might already be trying to beef up their firewalls in the hopes to keep me out. But we all know that’s not going to work,” The hacker smirked confidently.

Jesse clicked his tongue and pushed his hat up. He wasn’t glaring daggers anymore but he still had a bitter scowl twisting his features. “Ok, so you ain’t Talon anymore. But if we let ya join Overwatch, what’s that gonna do for our already bad stance with the public? ‘ _Former criminals Reaper and Sombra joining the new Overwatch: Public outrage’_!”

“Technically no one knows who I am,” Sombra pipped in, shrugging, “And aren’t you all already considered criminals? A disbanded group of rebels coming together illegally to go against the government’s orders? Sounds pretty criminal to me.”

Genji hummed, “She has a point.”

“We’re different,” Jesse snapped with a glare directed at her, “We don’t go after innocents.”

“Depends on your definition of innocent.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, reaching over Ana and smacking Sombra in the arm. “Shut it, both of you.”

Sombra squawked in offence, pouting at Gabriel but relenting. Angela glanced at Jesse before looking back at Gabriel, arms crossed over her chest.

“Ok, so everyone knows Gabriel- well Reaper- but what if you changed your appearance? Wore a different mask and clothes, wouldn’t that help?” She offered hopefully.

Though it was a decent idea, Gabriel knew it wouldn’t last long. “Maybe, but people are going to start drawing connections. Reaper suddenly disappears from Talon and a new guy joins Overwatch, a guy with the ability to turn into a cloud of smoke and teleport like the missing wraith? Yeah, I’ll be figured out in only a matter of minutes after appearing for the first time.”

“We could have Reyes do stealth missions,” Genji offered, catching everyone’s attention. “He was good at those and with his new abilities, he’d be even better. Plus Sombra is able to disappear and teleport too, though in a different way than Reyes. They’d both be good for stealth missions.”

“And I can help beef up your security!” Sombra added, grin wide. “You know it wasn’t too hard to track down where your mail goes to and to hack some of your bases. But while I can admit some gave me trouble, I could still give you a huge boost in security! And if not that, then I could still give you an extra line of defense!”

 “Wait wait, you know where we get our mail?” Winston asked, eyes widening.

Jack clicked his tongue, “Ah, so you really were the one to send me that package.”

“Package?” Ana parroted.

Jack nodded, “A while back I received a package with a Tupperware full of bluebells and a card with a sugar skull. The note on the card helped me realize that Reaper was Gabriel.”

The way Gabriel’s head snapped to look over at Sombra had the hacker unintentionally flinching. She could feel sweat beginning to bead along the back of her neck, her instincts telling her she should not make eye contact with the heated glare boring into the side of her face. She knew without even looking that Gabriel was going to have a serious “ _talk_ ” with her when this was all over. Shit. Sombra wondered if she’d have enough time to use her translocator before Gabriel killed her.

Winston hummed, quickly puzzling through scenario after scenario. Sombra smirked, knowing she had another little piece that could sweeten the deal. “And if you let us join Overwatch, I’ll ruin Talon from the inside out.”

This got the attention of everyone in the room, all of them showing various forms of interest while Gabriel was giving her a pointed stare.

“Elaborate.” The large gorilla said gruffly.

Sombra hummed, holding up her hand. Instantly a screen appeared, walls and walls of code flying by too fast for anyone to read easily. “All the information I gathered for Talon has a hidden code put into it, a booby trap, if you will. Though it’s placed secretly, it can still be found if they look hard enough. And if they try to remove it without using my failsafe then they trigger the trap and all of their information gets corrupted beyond repair. Not only that but it’ll release a couple hundred viruses into all of their databases. It’ll take them _ages_ to remove them all. However I can input a simple little code and then it’ll trigger anyways and unleash Hell. Let us join Overwatch and I’ll trigger the trap right here where you all can see.”

Sombra already intended to trigger the trap even if they were denied access into Overwatch. She and Gabriel had talked it over on the boat ride. If Overwatch says no, then Sombra triggers the trap, ruins Talon’s information banks and their systems, then the two of them drop off the face of the Earth and go into hiding for who knows how long.

This reveal increased the interest in the room, Winston’s eyes widening at that. He looked closer at the code, watching it flit past. The gorilla could decipher some things, particularly code for mundane and classified things. It was all moving too fast for him to get a good read on it but he did see the name Talon pass by a few times.

Sombra closed her hand, the screen disappearing. Smiling, she raised a brow at them. “Do we have a deal?”

“Now hold on,” Jesse chewed on his lip, “If that there is all the information Talon has, shouldn’t we copy it? Decode it all and use it against ‘em?”

“You could, but I don’t think it’d be a good idea.” Sombra hummed, pursing her lips. “The kill code I have is meant to fuck up whatever system is carrying the information. Meaning if it has the code that reacts to the trigger, it’s going to be messed up. Doesn’t matter where it’s located, the code will go off one by one like a chain reaction. I could try changing it so that a copy isn’t ruined, but I don’t exactly have the time. By now Talon is going to have figured out me and Gabi aren’t coming back. We’re going to be on their hit list right up with you lot.”

Jack huffed, “And how are we going to confirm that it’ll do what you say it does? How do we know it won’t fix itself hours after you put in the code?”

“Because I have no reason to screw with you guys.” Sombra said, crossing her arms over her chest and pursing her lips. “Like I said, I’m here for Gabi.”

Winston sighed, pushing his glassed up the bridge of his nose. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the gorilla cleared his throat. “Alright, you have a valid point. However you understand we can’t exactly trust either of you, not yet at least.”

“I’d be disappointed if you did.” Gabriel grunted.

“Right,” Winston offered a small, albeit gentle smile. “You’ve given us enough reason to consider your offer. But before a decision is made, I’d like for the current members of Overwatch to have a meeting and talk it over before we reach a final conclusion. And I’d like for us to think up our own terms. We had a few coming in to this meeting, however most of them require revising thanks to your request.”

Gabriel and Sombra shared a look, “So we end this meeting and wait for you to contact us again?” Gabriel asked, looking back towards Winston.

“That’d be correct.”

With that, those sitting down stood, waving off the light layer of dust clinging to their clothes. Ana didn’t hesitate before enveloping Gabriel in a tight hug, patting his back.

She pulled away, putting a hand to his cheek and smiling up at him. “It is good to see you again, Gabriel. Reinhardt is going to be happy to hear that you’re ok.”

Gabriel chuckled at that, though he did grimace a bit. “Either that or upset because another one of his supposed friends lied about their death.”

“Bah, he’ll get over it in time.” She waved her hand dismissively. Patting his cheek once more, the sniper moved back around the table. She glanced at Jesse and Genji, smirking. “You two better start that running.”

Jesse grunted, glancing at Gabriel. He hesitated before offering a small hat tip, a silent sign that Gabriel read loud and clear. He’d often do that back in Blackwatch whenever they’d argue to the point of no longer being on speaking terms. Gabriel would always show he wasn’t angry anymore by switching from Jesse’s last name back to his first. On the other hand, Jesse would simply tip his hat, never verbally apologizing unless he really did do something uncalled for.

The cowboy followed Ana out, Genji following for a moment before he paused at the stairs and bowed to Gabriel. “It is good to see you again! I hope we can speak on better terms next time!”

Gabriel snorted, “If you live that long.”

Genji laughed as he straightened up, “Yeah, you’re right! I don’t think Hanzo would harm me since he’ll be too busy killing Jesse, but Zenyatta might!”

With that he waved and hopped up the stairs two at a time. Angela wrung her hands, eyes going from the trash can to Gabriel. She hesitated before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she opened them, her gaze had hardened into that familiar no-nonsense doctor look. Angela pointed a finger at Gabriel, “Next meeting I am giving you a checkup. You too.” She said, swiveling her finger to point at Sombra. With that she nodded her head and turned, marching back up the steps.

Winston sighed, “We’ll be in contact, then. Gabriel, Sombra.” He dipped his head in a farewell, moving to the stairs. Glancing back at Jack, the gorilla waited for the man.

Jack waved him off, sparing him a glance. “I’ll be up in a moment.”

Gabriel bit the inside of his cheek, internally cursing. Of course Boy Scout couldn’t wait till **_next_** meeting to talk to him. Then again, should he even be surprised at this point. Gabriel watched as Winston nodded and hunkered up the stairs. When it was just Sombra, Gabriel, and Jack in the basement, Gabriel exhaled.

“Sombra,” He started, giving her a look.

“Yeah yeah, I got you. I’ll see you at our meeting spot, then.” And with that the hacker disappeared in a glitch of purple.

Gabriel sighed, sliding from the arm of the chair and into the cushion. He leaned back, spreading his arms out along the edge of the chair. Lolling his head to the side, Gabriel watched Jack from where he’d stood since the start of the meeting. He had his arms crossed over his chest, gloved finger tapping away being the only sign of his winding nerves.

Gabriel clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes to look up at the ceiling. “Well? Out with it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the flowers?”

Of course they were starting with this. Gabriel closed his eyes and swallowed heavily. “Because there was never a time to. We were either knee-deep in war or at each other’s throats. I couldn’t just say ‘ _by the way Jack, I love you’_.” It was surprising how easy it was to say it after all these years. But then again maybe it was because Gabriel was too tired. He was tired of running, tired of trying to hide it.

Jack took in a shuddering breath, the sound of his footsteps coming closer filling in the silence. Yet even then Gabriel didn’t open his eyes, didn’t move from how he was sitting.

“You know… I always knew you were a romantic at heart. I just didn’t think it’d ever be directed at me.” Jack said with a breathy chuckle.

His steps stopped in front of Gabriel, unmoving. There was a small clack of something weighty being placed on the counter. Though he didn’t want to, Gabriel knew he couldn’t continue pretending that Jack wasn’t there. With great effort Gabriel managed to open his eyes and look at Jack. The man had taken off his visor and was now looking down at Gabriel with an open expression.

Gabriel was quick to turn his head and look away, not wanting to see the emotions directed at him. He couldn’t put a name to it, either that or he simply didn’t want to. Yet when Jack’s hands came out to cup his cheeks and coaxed him to look up, Gabriel couldn’t resist.

He stared up at Jack, brows drawn together and feeling far more vulnerable than he had in years. Jack’s thumbs brushing against his cheeks weren’t helping matters either.

Closing his eyes, Gabriel leaned into the feeling. He exhaled softly, his entire frame trembling for a moment. “Jack…”

Jack smiled, reaching up to run his fingers through Gabriel’s hair. The wraith bit back a soft groan at the soothing feel of Jack’s gloved fingers massaging at his scalp.

“You know I never thought I’d be able to do this again. See you, talk to you… All of it. For the longest time I thought I was the only one to make it out of that explosion alive.” Jack whispered, “Every day I cursed myself for being so stupid and stubborn. If I had just talked to you, tried to understand, maybe you wouldn’t have had to handle it all on your own. Maybe things could’ve been different.”

Gabriel sighed, opening his eyes to look up at Jack. He hesitated a moment before settling his hands on Jack’s hips, squeezing lightly. “There was nothing you could do, Jackie. We were both being stubborn and stupid.”

“But we’re here now.” Jack whispered, a positive lit in his tone. “We’re alive and still kicking. We can do better this time. More communication, less fighting.”

Snorting, Gabriel rolled his eyes. He tugged Jack forward, bringing the man closer so he could wrap his arms around his waist. Burying his face into Jack’s abdomen, Gabriel inhaled deeply. Jack smelt of worn leather, gun cleaner, and that familiar faint musk that Gabriel had been so fond of.

Gabriel hummed lowly in the back of his throat. It was comforting, even more so when Jack’s arms slid around his shoulders and returned the embrace. The two lingered there for a while, simply holding each other while their thoughts drifted.

“I missed you…” Jack mumbled after a while.

Gabriel felt his chest ache once more, though this burn wasn’t accompanied by a tingling in his throat signaling the arrival of flowers. “Yeah… I did too. Never stopped thinking about you.”

“I know…”

The silence rose once again and though Gabriel didn’t want to, he knew eventually he’d have to let go. He sighed and took a few more moments to enjoy the contact before he was loosening his grip. Jack’s arms slid away from him and he stood back as Gabriel got to his feet. The two shared a glance, small smiles barely there. Things weren’t completely fixed between them, just like they hadn’t before the explosion had gone off back in Swiss. But this time they had a better chance of working through their problems.

“You should get going, Boy Scout.” Gabriel hummed, reaching down and picking up Jack’s mask.

He handed it over, though Jack caught his wrist before he could pull away. Jack’s grip was tight, but not tight enough that Gabriel couldn’t break out of it if he didn’t want to. He looked into Jack’s eyes, seeing the hesitation and longing in those beautiful blue depths.

Opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, Jack failed to find the proper words to start with. “Gabe, about the flowers… I want you to know that I-“

He was cut off by Gabriel holding up a hand, giving Jack a pointed look, albeit one with weary fondness. “Whatever you’re going to say, don’t.”

“But Gabe-!”

“No, listen to me,” Gabriel spoke firmly, using his free hand to cup Jack’s cheek. “If this all goes to shit, I’ll want something to remember you by. So until everything is decided, I’m keeping these flowers.”

Jack didn’t seem pleased with that decision but he didn’t get the chance to argue. His visor beeped, signaling an incoming call. With a sigh he pressed a button against the side of it.

“Yeah?”

“ _’Ello Love! Sorry for interrupting, but Winston wants to head off now_!” Came the chipper voice through the line. “ _Says being out in the open is mighty uncomfortable_.”

Gabriel snorted, rolling his eyes. “I’m sure it is. Being a hulking, talking gorilla tends to draw eyes.”

There was a sharp inhale before a delighted cry, the suddenness of it startling the two soldiers. “ _Gabriel?! Blimey is that you?! Haha! I haven’t heard your voice in ages!! Gosh it’s so good to hear you! Though you do sound like you’ve been gargling nails, but that’s alright! Jack sounds just as old! Oh! No offense, sir_!”

Gabriel snorted at the affronted look Jack was giving the communicator. Clicking his tongue, Jack huffed. “I’m on my way back, let Winston know I’ll be there in five.”

“ _Right-o! And again, sorry! Didn’t mean any offence by it_!”

“Don’t stress over it, Oxton. Jack will get over it.” Gabriel dismissed flippantly, “And it’s nice to hear that you’re still as chipper as ever.”

The peppy Brit giggled, “ _Of course! Can’t keep this ol’ girl down in the dumps_!”

Gabriel let out a hum at that, “Figured as much. Later Oxton, bye Jack,” He patted Jack’s shoulder and passed by the man towards the stairs.

Jack sputtered out for Gabriel to wait just as Lena said her own goodbye. Putting his visor back on, Jack followed Gabriel up to the ground floor of the old base. The two of them stood staring at each other for a while before Gabriel flicked his head towards the door.

“You leave first. I’ll find my own way out.”

Jack nodded, knowing it’d be best if the two of them weren’t seen together, even if the chances were slim. “We’ll be in contact.”

Was all Jack said before he was leaving through the door. Gabriel didn’t fault him for not saying goodbye, they’d had enough goodbyes to last them a lifetime. Gabriel waited in silence for a few more minutes before his form broke apart into a dense cloud of smog. He slipped from the cracks of the building, following the shadows till he reached the alley two blocks away.

Sombra was sitting on a pile of crates, fingers tapping away at her purple screen. She glanced up when Reaper rematerialized, her screens closing without any prompting. Jumping from her perch, the hacker saddled up next to the wraith.

“Well? Where to now, Jefe?”

Gabriel sighed, brushing some of his hair out of his face. His clothes morphed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweater, the hood already pulled up. A pair of sunglasses also appeared, shrouding his eyes from sight. “We’re going to another Blackwatch bunker. There we wait till Winston contacts us again.”

“Alright, and the code?” She asked, turning to watch Gabriel as he moved past her.

“Send it. We’re done with Talon.”

She smirked, watching Gabriel disappear around the alley’s corner and out onto the street. He wouldn’t be walking fast enough to lose her, so she wasn’t worried about being left behind. Pulling up her screens, Sombra stared at the wall of text flying by for a moment before her smile turned downright devilish.

“Boop!” With a press of her finger to the screen, certain areas of the code turned a bright shade of purple. Then, like spilled ink, the purple spread till everything was of a similar shade. The line of text then began glitching out before the screen turned black. After a moment, out of the black haze Sombra’s trademark Sugar Skull appeared on the screen. She cackled under her breath, closing the screen. Her work was done.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would so like to retire and live in the forest pretending to be a ghost just to keep people away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ayy here is another chapter. Also I saw Venom last weekend and couldn't help but think of a Reaper76 au for that. My desire to write says yes but my other fics say no. ;w; I've got too much on my plate already hnnnnn. If anyone does write a Venom AU for Reaper76 hmu. And actually I may just write a oneshot after Genyatta week. If I feel so inclined~

“What’s that?” Gabriel asked, dropping the bag of groceries onto the rickety wooden table located in the dingy motel room.

“Our medical records. I stole them on the boat ride before we met up with the sailor scouts.” Sombra hummed, multiple screens hovering around her as she tapped away at them.

Grunting, Gabriel stuffed one of the microwave dinners into the little black box and pressed a few of the buttons, the light turning on and the machine powering up. “Well if they didn’t suspect it was us by now then our records missing must’ve surely done it.”

“Ah, no I’m pretty sure Moira knew we were not coming back.” Sombra hummed, grabbing a screen and enlarging it. She turned it towards Gabriel, “She left us a note.”

Gabriel frowned and moved closer, reading the text on the screen. He bit back a cough as he read, the familiar feeling of the flowers tickling his throat threatening to make him break down into a coughing fit.

“ _Dead Olivia and Gabriel,_

_If you’re reading this then that means you’ve stolen your medical records and have left Talon. I always expected either one of you to eventually leave. I’m not even the slightest bit surprised it was both of you. No doubt you both leaving the base at the same time spells trouble, especially after how odd Gabriel was the previous days. I can’t say I blame you. The idiots here are hindering my research more often than not. Though I am delighted that I won’t have two more dolts to deal with. A little tragic, especially since Gabriel was my greatest experiment. Or patient, if you would rather be referred to as such._

_Anyways, here are your medical records. I took the liberty of keeping them up to date in case something like this were to happen. Olivia, keep in mind that you simply cannot eat whatever you want. Gabriel, make sure she doesn’t consume peanuts. I’m sure you don’t want to get caught just because she decided to induce an allergic reaction. Gabriel, while I still haven’t figured out if your body responds to allergies, it would be best to stay clear of shellfish until you are in a safe place with a doctor you trust._

_I have evidence to believe that you lot will try and join up with Overwatch. If they do let you in their ranks, I give them my condolences. You lot are a handful. Tell Angela I said hello and give her your medical files. I also attached my notes and procedures for the experiments and tests done on you Gabriel, so be sure to pass those on as well._

_As much as I would have loved to join you, I am still not interested in hindering my research just to follow simple “laws”. No, I think I will stick with Talon a while longer till their usefulness has run its course. It is quite a shame that we shall be on opposing sides, but then again this also makes for delightful encounters, would you not agree?_

_Should it be the case that Overwatch rejects you then I offer my sympathies. No doubt you two will be stuck running from Talon for the unforeseeable future. But if this is the path you two are set on taking then I can assume you are already aware of the consequences. I already know I won’t be seeing the both of you anytime soon. So whenever you two decide to steal your medical records, I leave you this little letter of sorts. Take care of yourselves and don’t come back._

_– Moira_ ”

Gabriel grunted and shook his head, not bothering to hide the small quirk of his lips. “Guess that’s the only sendoff we’re going to get.”

“Sweet of her, I guess.” Sombra hummed, taking back the screen and closing it. “Annoying she kept using my name, though.”

“Exactly why she used it.” The wraith said just as the timer on the microwave went off. He pulled out the steaming food and ripped off the little film covering it. He then stabbed a plastic fork into the mix of noodles, chicken, and sauce before placing the meal on the table. “Alright, come eat.” He grabbed another dinner and shoved it into the microwave, repeating the process.

Sombra groaned, closing all of her screens before she peeled herself away from the couch. “Come oooon! This stuff is nasty! How long are we expected to hole out here and eat shit like this? By the time Overwatch finally contacts us, all of the funds are going to be drained!”

Gabriel rolled his eyes at her dramatic spiel. It had been little over a week since the meeting with Overwatch. There had been no word from the formerly disbanded organization, though just turning on the news showed they were still being active. Gabriel was already taking measures to assume that their offer had been rejected.

He was planning on moving with Sombra somewhere far from the city, preferably with little populace in order to avoid dealing with Talon. It wasn’t going to be pleasant, the transportation was going to be a pain in the ass. But it was either that or stick within the city and hope Talon didn’t find them. Which was already a stupid idea since Gabriel knew they’d have every reason to track them down.

A little while after the meeting Sombra had complained about wanting food. Gabriel had argued they didn’t have much money in the first place and that they needed to be careful with spending. Sombra had been pleased to inform him that while also screwing over Talon with all their data, she also helped herself to their funds. They’d be unable to trace her since she made sure the transferring was woven through an endless rabbit hole of code and viruses, so they had a rather lucrative pile of money to cushion themselves on. Didn’t stop Gabriel from acting like they only had a hundred dollars to spare between the both of them.

“We splurge on useless shit and it paints a huge target on our backs. You never do something so outrageous that’d blow your cover like that.” Gabriel griped, giving her a sharp look.

Sombra rolled her eyes, “That’s what Talon would be expecting you to do! Not splurge! They’d be anticipating you using your old Blackwatch training to move about! ¡No sea estúpido!”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, waving a hand. “Alright, alright! Eat your dinner already. Did you check the plane flights?”

She grumbled under her breath yet still pulled up a screen. “Yeah. The next plane landing in Indiana should take off at around 2 tomorrow evening.”

“Then we’ll hide out here till 12 and make our way towards the airport. Make sure your translocators are working so you can get on with me when I sneak into the cargo hold.” Gabriel said as he took his own food out of the microwave.

Dinner was a quiet affair, Gabriel only having to go cough up flowers once at the start of the meal. During that time Sombra turned one of her screens on to the news. There was a lady with too much makeup on talking about how Talon had suddenly gone off the radar and sightings of the Reaper had also become rare. Some say they spotted him in Numbani, Egypt, and one source even claimed they saw him in New Jersey. Sombra laughed at that, leading to Gabriel griping about an actual mission he had in New Jersey back when he was still in Blackwatch.

The two slept lightly, Gabriel taking the lumpy chair shoved into a corner while Sombra took the semi-comfortable bed. Despite having extra security cameras put into place it still didn’t make them relaxed enough to sleep carelessly.

When morning came Gabriel woke up with the sun. Sombra growled as he moved around the room, pulling the pillow over her head. Gabriel went through a quick morning routine before he opened a bag of bagels he bought the other night and began to munch on one.

“Sombra, wake up.”

She scowled under the pillow before yanking the covers up to also cover her head. “Fucking piss off. We aren’t heading to the airport till 12 and it’s only 6 am.”

Rolling his eyes, Gabriel took the bag of bagels and lightly swung. The collection of rolls smacked into Sombra’s covered head and she let out a yelp.

“Wake up and eat now or else you won’t eat till the plane takes off.”

Sombra let out another curse, flinging the blankets off and stomping her way towards the bathroom. “Make me coffee then!” She demanded, slamming the door closed behind her.

With another roll of his eyes Gabriel started brewing the coffee, prepping two foam cups for the drink. He was completely used to Sombra’s crabby attitude in the mornings. She was all bark and no bite, her threats to maim just empty words. Besides, no one could compare to Jack when he’d just woken up. A super enhanced soldier with the strength to back up his threats was not a fun person to wake up unless you were Gabriel. Waking Jack up had been one of Gabriel’s highlights. But honestly speaking, you’d think a farm boy like Jack would be used to waking up at the crack of dawn.

As the coffee began dripping into the cracked pot, Gabriel wondered vaguely if Jack was just as bad waking up now as he was in the past. Was he more cranky thanks to the age? Or was he just the usual amount of salty bitch? Gabriel felt a small pang of longing in his chest. Oh how he wished to know the answer to that. But Gabriel wasn’t foolish enough to pretend that kind of thing could happen anytime soon.

By the time they left the hotel and made their way towards the airport, Sombra and Gabriel were a bit more refreshed. Sombra had refrained from putting on makeup and she’d tied her hair into a sloppy bun. Her bag, a pair of sunglasses, and bland clothes in various shades of brown made the perfect disguise for the usually vibrantly dressed hacker. Though no one outside of high-ranking Talon members knew who she was, it was better to not stand out in public. Didn’t want to leave a trail for Talon to follow, after all.

Gabriel wore something similar, keeping his jacket’s hood drawn and his sunglasses firmly in place. On his back was a thick backpack that he had stuffed most of their necessary items into, such as the bagels, a few scraps of tech Sombra had been tinkering with, and one of her translocators. Gabriel had seen the pile of them she had in her bag and wondered how she’d managed to stuff so many in there while still having room for her clothes.

“Plane should be finishing up with loading the luggage right now.” Sombra whispered, closing the small screen she had opened up.

Grunting his response, Gabriel moved from where he had been shielding Sombra from view so she could use her screens. “Alright. I’ll let you know once I’m secure.”

Giving a mock salute, Sombra sauntered towards one of the café’s in the terminal. “Copy that, jefe.”

Gabriel watched her for a moment longer before he was walking away. The wraith had plenty of experience sneaking onto planes, both from Blackwatch and from his time in Talon. It didn’t take long for him to find a door leading out of the airport.

He took a moment to give a quick look around to make sure no one was nearby. Then after locating his and Sombra’s plane from where he stood, Gabriel broke apart his form into dense smog. The wraith slipped over the ground and past people mulling about. Once his ghostly cloud slid over the side of the plane where the luggage was stored, he slipped in through the cracks.

The lighting in the base of the plane was extremely poor, the wraith having to squint in order to see anything. With a grunt he slipped the bag over his shoulder and pulled out a small flashlight. Thank God he thought to buy it beforehand when he had been at the store.

Gabriel picked his way through the many bags, finding a little alcove far from the entrance. The last thing they needed was to be spotted when someone was doing a last minute check.

He set the bag down and pulled out Sombra’s translocator, activating it before tossing it on the ground in front of him. Gabriel then raised a hand and pressed the little com-link in his ear. Sombra had made little temporary communication tools for them should the situation call for it. They didn’t have a long battery life and could only connect over a certain distance. Hopefully they worked even when he was in the belly of a flying case of metal.

“Sombra, I’m in.”

There was crackling over the com before Sombra’s voice filtered through. “Got it. Give me a moment to find a place that won’t cause a scene if I disappear.”

“Alright. But hurry up.” He took his hand off the device’s communication button, the small thing not as advanced as to keep the channel open with the press of a button.

Gabriel sat down with his back against the wall and waited. Exactly five minutes after having contacted Sombra, her translocator glowed and there was a flash of purple light. Standing above the device was the hacker. She bent down and picked up her translocator before shutting it off and stuffing it back in the bag propped up next to Gabriel.

“Oook! Now we’re on our plane. What’s the plan after this?” She asked, taking a seat next to him.

Gabriel grunted, “Three hour plane ride to Indiana. Then we go out into some woods, build a house, and if anyone tries to get close we’ll make it seem haunted and scare people away.”

Laughing at that, Sombra shook her head. “So we’re going to become an urban legend? What happens if there are actual ghosts living in the woods?”

“If they can’t accept two new ghosts then we chase them out, simple as that.”

Sombra cackled, wholeheartedly agreeing with the wraith. It’d be fun to pretend to be ghosts just to keep people away from them. Not exactly how she pictured spending the rest of her days but eh, it was better than being hunted by Talon endlessly. Besides just because they were “lying low” didn’t mean she had to stop her own plans. They’d just be put on hold till their little house was built.

A beep going off faintly had the hacker blinking. Gabriel gave no indication he had heard it which made Sombra know it was internal. Because she had been augmented with all forms of tech into her spine, Sombra was literally her own living computer. Out of convenience purposes she had made it so her own body will tell her if she’d gotten a new message.

With a flick of her wrist a purple screen showed up, the girl clicking on the newest email. She read over the contents before letting out a groan. “Looks like we’re going to have to postpone our careers as ghosts.”

Gabriel looked at the email once it was turned towards him, his frown growing even deeper. By the time he was done he gave the email an unimpressed look, almost as if he was hoping the look would reach to the senders of the text.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He griped, smacking his forehead and rubbing at his face.

The email was from Overwatch, the simple sentences being coordinates on where to meet up with a small entourage that’d take them to the Watchpoint. Just from the top of his head Gabriel knew that those coordinates were not anywhere close. They’d have to probably take another boat, especially since their plane wasn’t going to be going in the right direction. With a curse he stood, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

“Dumb ass—fucking—when I get my hand on whoever is making these stupid last minute plans, they’re going to wish they’d just let me retire.” He snarled, stomping towards the front of the carrier.

Gabriel swallowed down the urge to cough, not in the mood to deal with the fucking petals. He broke apart without waiting for Sombra’s response, slipping through the cracks and only materializing when he was sure no one was around. He then took out the single translocator, activated it, tossed it on the ground, and then knocked a clenched fist against the bottom of the plane.

Sombra appeared not a moment later, face set into a scowl rivaling Gabriel’s. She grabbed the translocator and stuffed it in his bag without preamble. Best to let him keep one in case they were separated, after all.

“Hable de la mala sincronización. What if we were up in the air when they sent us the email? We’d have to make the trip all the way from Indiana to the ocean. Then we’d have to steal a boat and hope we don’t get caught!”

Gabriel shook his head and sighed, “Whatever. We can bitch at them when we get to the location. We’re going to head towards the waterfront from here so you’d better be prepared.”

“Incognito mode?”

“Incognito.” Gabriel repeated with a nod, “Stick close and don’t reveal yourself unless it’s important.”

“I got it.” She waved her hand and disappeared.

Gabriel knew she was still standing there, just simply using her stealth tech to blend in to her surroundings. With a huff his form once again broke up into a thick cloud, the wraith moving over the ground and through crates. On foot it’d take them at least three hours to reach the nearest beachside, not even factoring in breaks and how long it’d take them to find and steal another boat. The theft might prompt Talon into looking in their direction but Gabriel hoped they were still too preoccupied recovering from Sombra’s viruses.

///

It took far longer than Gabriel thought it would to near the ocean. The breaks had increased just from the fact that Gabriel, even in his cloudy form, felt the urge to cough up flowers. It would get to the point where he’d reform hunched over and already hacking up a lung. Sombra would always diligently appear next to him, a bit out of breath from running to keep up. She’d rub at his back, they’d rest for a while, drink some water and munch on the remaining bagels, and then go back to their journey.

When they reached the beachside, Sombra left with his bag to go refill their supplies while Gabriel went in search of a boat they could steal. It wasn’t hard to locate an inconspicuous yet pretty decently fast vessel. A simple boat named “ _The Mistress_ ”, Gabriel found himself snorting at the name. Sneaking onboard was easy, no one was there to witness a cloud of black smoke slipping over the docks and onto the boat.

Most of it was extremely high-tech, far more advanced than a simple little ship should be. With a roll of his eyes, Gabriel turned back into a cloud and made his way to a hidden alcove near the dock. There he waited for Sombra, preferring to have her hack into the ship should there be any potential alarms. Not only that, but Gabriel wanted her to hack a few of the other ships and make them take off on their own course. It’d hopefully give them enough of a window to get far out into open sea.

“Five dollars for a soda! What kind of pricing is this??” Sombra’s annoyed tone announced her presence before her footfalls.

“Retired people with money live here, of course it’s going to be pricey.” Gabriel griped, arms crossing over his chest.

Shaking her head and grumbling under her breath, the hacker held out the black bag to Gabriel. He took it, pointing to the ship they were taking. “That’s our boat. Turn off any alarms that might be there. And can you also hack any of the boats here and make them go off on their own?”

Sombra paused in opening her bottle of soda, quirking a brow at him and smirking. “Aaaah, I see what you’re getting at. Yeah, so long as it isn’t an ancient hunk of trash then I could probably fuck with it a bit. I’ll go and check our ship before working on the others.” She said, tucking away the soda into her bag.

With a slight glitch she faded from sight, Gabriel waiting about five minutes before making his way towards _The Mistress_. It took another five more minutes before Sombra appeared next to him at the ship’s controls. She dusted her hands off and nodded, “Alright! Everything is ready to go. Just start the boat and I’ll let the others loose.”

Gabriel grunted, going through the motions of starting the ship. Just as they began trudging away from the dock several other ships turned on their lights and began peeling out at a faster rate. They branched off and went in different directions, expertly avoiding ramming into each other.

“Better speed up, Gabi. It isn’t going to take long for people to notice boats suddenly driving without any people in ‘em.” She hummed, pulling out her soda and sitting down on one of the chairs.

“Yeah, yeah.” Came his gruff reply, the wraith picking up the boat’s speed.

It was silent while they crossed into open waters. Gabriel was slightly on edge from how easy it had been, not at all trusting the calm in the air. Sombra didn’t seem at all perturbed, instead choosing to scroll through things on her screens.

With a hum the hacker clicked on something, “Ok so there shouldn’t be any major storms during our time at sea. So no worries about capsizing and getting stranded. Though if worse does come to worse I can always send a message to Overwatch and demand they pick us up. I’m sure your pretty boy won’t want you drowning in the ocean.”

“I can swim.” Gabriel gave her a minute glare.

“Yeah, well I can’t. Not very well anyways. So I don’t want to die.”

Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at her, a brow raised in question. Sombra shrugged, “Never really had the time to learn, what with the war. And most of my jobs keep me on land.”

He snorted at that, “For someone who can’t swim well, you’re pretty calm around the water.”

“It’s not like the water’s gonna reach up and drag me into it.” Sombra rolled her eyes, loudly slurping her drink just because she knew the sound bugged Gabriel. “Besides, I know you’ll jump in to save me if I really did fall overboard.”

“Not if I was the one to toss you.” The promising glare he sent her spoke wonders.

With a laugh Sombra saluted Gabriel, “Sure sure. You’d miss me too much if I actually did die.” Standing, she left the control room and began wondering around deck. Once Gabriel was confident the boat wouldn’t suddenly change direction, he too joined her on exploring the ship. He’d come back later to check that they were still going in the right direction.

The ship was rather simple, plane on the top with a set of stairs leading below deck. Down there was a single room with gaudy drapes over the portside windows and an ugly cheetah print blanket on a circular bed. The pillows on it were in clashing zebra stripes, the rug at the base of the bed equally as tacky. Sombra had made a gagging noise, promptly opting to sleep in the control room once night fell. She exaggerated her claims of saying she’d vomit if she had to wake up wrapped in those sheets.

“Clearly the person who owns this boat is an enemy to interior decorators.” Sombra griped.

“Or just an enemy to people with a sense of taste.” Gabriel had shot back, the two of them cackling at the expense of the unknown owner.

The waters were quiet as they powered over the foamy sea. The two of them were sitting on deck playing a game of cards while munching on some chips Sombra had bought. It was an hour or two away from night, dusk settling in and turning the waters a glittering swath of orange and red. It was a beautiful sight that was only broken up a few times when Gabriel had to hack up a lungful of flowers. He would toss them into a plastic bag with the sole intent to chuck them at Jack the next time they saw each other. It was romantic to give someone else flowers, right? It was only a minor detail that Gabriel intended to beat Jack upside the head with them.

“Hey Gabi,” Sombra hummed, mumbling for a three that Gabriel refuted with a “go fish”.

“What?”

“You see that ship approaching?” Sombra lifted her eyes from her cards and over towards the black speck speeding towards them.

Gabriel spared it a glance, “Yeah. Speed up.”

Sombra had synced up the ship with her own tech, making her able to control it from anywhere on the ship. Pulling up a screen with one hand, she increased the speed by a few notches.

“Got any fives?” Gabriel asked, holding his hand out expectantly.

With a click of her tongue, Sombra handed over the other five. “You’re seriously counting these cards, aren’t you? Cheater.”

“All is fair in love and war.” Came the bland response.

“This isn’t war, it’s Go Fish.”

 “We can play War next then.” Gabriel said as he snatched the last of Sombra’s cards, declaring him as the winner. She huffed, rolling her eyes and looking back towards the other ship that was now more prominent against the horizon. It was a black armored boat that was cutting through water like a bullet.

Sombra hummed, pursing her lips. “I think I forgot to check if this ship has a tracker.”

Gabriel followed her gaze, frowning slightly before gathering the cards and putting them in his bag. “Well looks like we’re going to have company soon.”

“Honestly why do rich people boats move so slow?” Sombra huffed, standing up and stretching.

“Because they don’t expect to be chased by terrorists.” Gabriel set the backpack in the control room next to Sombra’s, his clothes changing into his signature Reaper attire. It’d be best if his face wasn’t seen, especially if the approaching boat was Talon. Gabriel expected it to be them, there was no possible way it wasn’t Talon. He was just mildly surprised it was not the police that had tracked them. If what Sombra mused aloud was any indication, then surely this boat had a tracker just to prevent it from being stolen. Maybe they’d run into the police sometime later.

Sombra looked up at him when he came back out, only raising a brow at his appearance rather than commenting on it. Tilting her head, her fully-automatic machine pistol materialized in her hand. She checked to make sure it was fully loaded before smirking at him.

“Ready, Gabi?”

“As I’ll ever be.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Worst case scenario is they get stranded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Aaand I'm back to updating my fanfics~ I promise that by next chapter they'll be away from the ocean and finally with Overwatch xD Hope you enjoy this chapter and tbh I kind of apologize. I thought this was going to be Gabriel and Jack centric but it ended up being a freaking road trip story featuring Sombra and Gabriel. Ain't it amazing how stories can get away from you?

The fact that they almost crashed the damn boat into Gabriel and Sombra’s just showed how desperate Talon was getting to either kill them or get them back. Instantly men were jumping deck and shooting at Gabriel and Sombra.

Splitting up, Gabriel had turned into a wraith and went to the front of the boat while Sombra disappeared, intending to take out some men through stealth. The team of seven split up, three going after Sombra while the remainder chased after Gabriel.

They were, of course, no match for the super soldier. It was almost pitiful how easily he took them out. Just as he was loading the rest of his bullets into a man’s chest, there was the sound of Sombra’s pistol going off. It was accompanied by other machine gun fire, but Gabriel wasn’t too worried. He knew Sombra could handle herself in a situation like this.

By the time the gun fire ended, Sombra was stepping over bodies and meeting Gabriel at the front of the boat. She grimaced, looking towards the Talon boat. “Well? Now what? We could send that boat off on a wild goose chase.”

“But they’ll be tracking that boat and realize it stopped right here for a good while.” Gabriel huffed, arms crossed over his chest. “Sending it off in a random direction will buy us time, but not much. And if this boat is being tracked as well, then it’s only a matter of time before they find us again. And then what? They bring more guns and maybe a rocket launcher or two?”

“Nah, maybe tasers. Talon probably wants to capture us and brainwash us into following their orders.”

“Maybe this time they’ll make us purple.” Gabriel teased, smirking beneath his mask.

Sombra laughed loudly at that, shoving at Gabriel’s shoulder. “Don’t let Amélie hear that, she might take the next mission and slip in making a “nonlethal” shot.”

Gabriel shared in her cackling, uncrossing his hands. “Well we might as well start dumping the bodies.”

“Ooooh are we going to be feeding the sharks like at a zoo?”

Though he was still wearing his mask, Gabriel gave her a look. She seemed to sense his gaze because she too turned to look up at him.

“What?”

Gabriel was silent for a moment before he asked rhetorically, “What kind of zoos are you going to?”

Before Sombra could respond, there was a groan from behind them followed by a little click. Gabriel was familiar with that sound, having heard it frequently back in the war. It was the sound a grenade made when its pin was removed.

The two of them whipped around, staring at one of the men pretty much steps away from death. He was in a pile of blood and was bleeding out fast. The man, though his face was mostly obscured by Talon’s standard issue mask, still managed to convey the glare being directed at the two of them. In one hand was a grenade pulled from a little satchel on his waist, the other hand holding the pin.

Suddenly the man let go of the grenade and it dropped to the floor of the boat. Gabriel’s mind worked overtime in the few seconds from hearing the pin removed and to the grenade dropping. Because the man hadn’t let go of the handle till now, they had roughly between 4-7 seconds before it exploded. And there was no way they could get away from the blast in time.

Talon, cowards till the end. If you were going down, you were sure as Hell taking everyone out with you.

Gabriel whipped around and wrapped an arm around Sombra’s waist. He practically threw her over the edge of the boat, her undignified yelp quickly drowned out by the water. Gabriel was in the ocean right after her, still keep a hold of her and holding the hacker beneath him just as the grenade went off.

There was a loud, muffled boom and suddenly they were being forced deeper under the water from the strength of the blast. Like firecrackers, booms started going off above them one right after the other. The darkened waters were alight with fire and debris from the exploded boats littering around them. Gabriel’s back was sweltering and his sides hurt, the ocean water stinging.

His lungs burned and Sombra was beginning to thrash in his arms, but Gabriel didn’t let her surface, not this close to the wreck, anyways. So with one arm keeping a firm hold of her, he swam the both of them as far as he could away from the heated water before aiming towards the surface. They broke through with loud gasps, Sombra digging her nails painfully into Gabriel’s arm as she vomited up mouthfuls of water.

Gabriel had to keep a firm hold on her as Sombra began thrashing, her breathing coming in frantic panics.

“Sombra, calm down!” Gabriel coughed, twisting her around so she was facing him.

Her eyes were wild with fear, her hands lashing out. Sombra wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, practically squeezing the life out of him as she clung like a koala.

“Don’t let me drown Gabi, don’t let me drown.” She repeated that over and over, her body wracked by shakes.

Gabriel’s chest squeezed and he wrapped an arm around her waist, the other held out so he could continue keeping them afloat. “I’ve got you, brat. Just breathe.”

He didn’t loosen his hold on Sombra till her shaking began to subside. Now that the panic was ebbing away, it was instead replaced by anger.

“F-fuck!” She wheezed, squinting through the sea water running down her face and looking at the boats being swallowed by flames.

Gabriel stared with her, “Fuck is right.”

“¡Cogida!! I lost all my translocators! And our food!!” She yelled, choking on water and spitting it out.

The waves around them were a little intense from the effects of the explosion. Already water was lapping up the sides of the two boats. It was obvious that they’d soon be submerged under the water. Gabriel’s mildly surprised there hadn’t been a bigger explosion.

Twisting slightly, he hissed between his teeth. Sombra noticed this, frowning at him. “What, what is it?”

“My side, closer to my back.” He said through gritted teeth.

Sombra clung closer to Gabriel, making sure she was secure before she felt Gabriel’s side under the water. As she did this, he dematerialized his mask and began swimming the two of them away from the wreckage. The further away they are, the better chance they have at not getting caught in another explosion. Who knows if the fuel tanks had been hit yet; and if they hadn’t then there was the chance the fire’s licking away at the boat would eventually get them.

“Oh shit,” Sombra sucked in a quick breath, feeling the rather large chunk of wood protruding from Gabriel’s back. While she only had a few scratches and a bad case of aching lungs from inhaling water, Gabriel had taken the brunt of the grenade’s explosion for her. “Ok, so good news or bad news first?”

The look levelled her way had the hacker laughing hollowly. “Ok ok, no need to get snippety. So good news is, is that I don’t think it hit anything important? Plus I don’t know, do you bleed? If not then you’re fine. Also we have no food, so we’ll have that to worry about.”

Gabriel’s throat constricted and he coughed harshly, spitting up flowers and extra sea water. He grimaced, not at all enjoying the taste of either. Wheezing slightly, Gabriel coughed up a few more flowers before shifting Sombra from hanging onto his front to resting on his back. She made sure to keep away from the puncture, not wanting to exasperate the wound.

“Leave it in. If I do bleed, pulling it out will just kill me again faster. And we don’t need to worry about sharks, probably. They’ll be more focused on the feast back there.” He griped, jabbing his thumb in the direction they were swimming away from. “As for food it’s fine. We’ll die of dehydration first before starvation.”

Sombra shivered, “Or hypothermia. Cold water and with it pretty much being night-time? Yeah, not good combinations, jefe.” Clearing her throat, she struggled to force down her panic at not being able to swim. It would be fine. She would be fine. Gabriel wouldn’t let her drown. “Anyways, good news is, is that since I’m my own Wi-Fi connection and I’m completely waterproof, I can contact Overwatch and tell them that this is all their fault and they’d better pick our asses up.”

She opened a screen and, instead of just sending a message, she decided to take it a step further. “Hey, Gabi. Wanna send them a video?”

Gabriel hesitated for a moment before shrugging, “Eh, why not. Not like we have anything else to do.”

Cackling, Sombra pulled up a screen. She moved it so that it was focusing on the burning wrecks behind them. Then, with little flare, pressed the bright red button. Instantly it started recording.

“Hey Overwatch! See the burning Hellfire behind us?? Yeah! That’s the remains of our damn boat and a boat from Talon’s! Good news! They can no longer track where we are! But oops there’s bad news too!” Here she moved the screen so both her and Gabriel were now the main focus. “Gabi is stabbed in the side thanks to the grenade Talon tossed and we’re stranded in the middle of the ocean!”

Rolling his eyes, Gabriel opened his mouth to respond but was silenced by a wave hitting their back and dunking them under for a second. Both surfaced sputtering, the screen in front of them still perfectly fine and recording everything.

“As you can see, she’s not too happy.” Gabriel griped, chancing a glance over his shoulder. Sombra was letting out a few curses, pushing her soaked hair out of her face. “And neither am I, to be blunt. But getting pissed will just tire me out faster and with a chunk of wood sticking out of my side and trying to make sure we both don’t drown, I don’t have the time to waste that energy. So yeah, Winston, you’d damn well better send someone to pick us up. Sombra will keep a line open so you can call us and keep track of our location.”

“So hurry up and pick us up!” Sombra demanded with finality, stopping the video and sending the message to Athena. She then made sure to keep open the private line she had given to Overwatch like Gabriel said she would.

“Think they’ll pick us up soon?”

“With hope, we’ll only be here for around an hour.”

So the two bobbed in the ocean, Sombra researching on shark repellents while Gabriel swam at a leisurely pace. Every now and again Gabriel would wheeze and cough up some petals. Sombra would joke that he was leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for Talon to find them. Of course that was stupid since the ocean’s currents would be washing them all over the place and not everyone knew Gabriel was suffering from the Hanahaki.

“G-Gabi,” Sombra said after a while, her whole body shaking and her teeth chattering loudly. “I’m c-c-cold.”

It was already completely dark, the only light above them being the moon and stars. The water was chilly and both Gabriel and Sombra were shaking. Gabriel felt extremely tired, his movements sluggish and stilted. Having no clue if he was bleeding out or not, Gabriel couldn’t decide where the exhaustion was coming from. It was probably a case of hypothermia, but he was just speculating.

“Yeah…” He rasped.

Thankfully the waves were a bit calmer than earlier. Gabriel didn’t have to struggle to keep the two of them afloat. Still there was the occasional wave that would pass over their heads. Gabriel could handle those just fine. So long as the universe didn’t decide to fuck them and start a storm, Gabriel didn’t care.

Overwatch still hadn’t contacted them and while Gabriel wanted to believe they’d be here soon, he had to be realistic. So he had been swimming in the direction they’d been heading before their ship was destroyed. It was a bad idea wasting energy like that. Gabriel may be tired but if he died, he at least wanted Sombra close enough to land so she could probably be picked up. A morbid thought but Gabriel was a practical man and he knew better than to just sit and wait for rescue. He wasn’t a princess up in a tower, he was a soldier.

“H-hey, when Overwatch picks us up, c-c-can I punch someone? For taking so l-long.” Sombra asked, sniffling a little.

Gabriel huffed, “You’ll have to beat me t-to it.”

“Ugh, why don’t we just t-tag team? I punch them one way a-and you punch them b-back to m-me.”

“That’s a p-plan.”

Sombra sniffed and suddenly let out an exclamation, quickly holding her hand out in front of both her and Gabriel before opening up a screen. Instantly a frazzled looking Lena showed up0, her eyes wide and her brows drawn together. Behind her was Jesse, Jack, Angela, and a few others, though they were being blocked out by all the people crowding the screen.

“ _Oh thank God! You both are ok_!!” Lena exclaimed, breathing out a sigh. “ _Winston got your message! We’ve got the only working ship and we were out on a mission, so he tried to contact us! But we couldn’t even get his message till we were airborne! Jack thinks something had been interfering with our communications while we were down on the ground. But oh gosh, keep this line open! We’re on our way_!”

Reaching over, Angela took the communicator, leaving Lena to pilot. She walked back into the main cabin, everyone but Lena trailing after her like ducklings. “ _Gabriel, Sombra, how are you feeling? Shivering? Slow breathing? How are your pulses_?”

Gabriel huffed, “I-if you’re asking if hypothermia might have set in, then yes. I-it has.”

“Gabi is probably more a-along than I am. He’s been s-swimming like an i-i-idiot.” Sombra grumbled just loud enough to be heard.

Angela looked angry at that, the doctor cursing. Behind her those that were visible also shared the same angry look.

“ _Damn it, Gabe_!” Jack snapped, making a grab for the communicator.

Angela smacked his hand away, shooting him a glare before looking back towards the two. “ _Gabriel! Stop swimming this instant! What are you thinking_?!”

“Sombra can’t swim.” Gabriel rasped out, rolling his eyes. “If I end up giving out, then she has a better chance surviving if we’re closer to land.”

Jesse cursed, rushing out of screen. They could hear his voice demanding Lena to pick up the pace. Angela’s brows had furrowed and she bit at her lip. “ _We weren’t aware Sombra couldn’t swim. If we had known, we’d have never asked you to travel so far from your location!_ ”

“It ain’t exactly s-something I want spreading a-a-around.” Sombra huffed, pursing her lips. “Just keep it in mind in c-case I go on f-f-f-future missions.”

“If we l-live that long.”

“Ha! True.” Sombra and Gabriel both snickered despite the very unimpressed look Angela was levelling them with.

Shaking her head, she murmured something about Gabriel having the same terrible humour as always. “ _Ok, enough joking about dying. Please._ ” Angela stressed the last word, almost making Gabriel feel a little bad about the morbid humour. Maybe he should wait to make jokes till _after_ they were safe and not at the risk of dying.

“ _For starters, Gabriel, stop swimming_.” Angela squared her shoulders, settling into her “doctor mode”.

Gabriel rolled his eyes, “Already on it doc. Stopped swimming the moment you guys called.”

The two ex-terrorists then settled in as Angela gave them an earful, talking them through what to do in order to conserve their energy and make sure they didn’t exasperate their hypothermia. However it was clear the two were only half-listening, Gabriel just nodding along even when Angela wasn’t saying anything directly to him. On his back Sombra had slumped even more into him, both of their shaking so intense Gabriel didn’t know where his started and where Sombra’s ended.

“ _Gabe, Sombra, stay awake_!” Jack’s gruff voice cut into their dozing state, snapping the two of them awake.

“Not sleeping…” Sombra grumbled, her glare more of a pout. Her makeup had long since run off thanks to the salt water, but the way her lips were turning blue, Gabriel had the faint thought that maybe she was still wearing some lipstick.

“ _Both of you, keep talking. About anything! Just keep yourselves awake! Jack, make sure they do not fall asleep._ ” Angela handed over the communicator to Jack, rushing out of focus and beginning to bark orders for Jesse to help her get some cots ready.

Sombra sniffed, adjusting herself on Gabriel’s back. He grunted but did little to protest. He was a little too numb to even feel her accidentally brush against the wood chunk in his side. “You know,” She started, moving her hand in front of her and brushing her nails against her screen. It shivered slightly from the contact. “Gabi and I w-were so ready to move to Indiana to b-b-become local… Fuck what’s-s the word?? Fantasmas? Gabi, the w-w-word.”

Gabriel grunted as Sombra began smacking the side of his face. “Ghosts. We were going to b-be ghosts.”

Jack snorted at that, “You were going to move to my home state and become local ghosts?”

“Aha!” Gabriel winced as Sombra shouted directly into his ear. “I knew you picked Indiana for a r-reason. Such a r-r-romant-tic!”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and sneeze, the two of them jolting. Sombra’s knee accidentally shoved against the plank of wood and Gabriel gasped. Oh yeah, he really felt that now. The pain momentarily shocked Gabriel enough that he stopped keeping them afloat. The two disappeared underneath the water with shared gasps.

Sombra’s grip around Gabriel’s neck tightened, even when they burst back up. Sombra coughed up some water and groaned. Gabriel shook out his hair, grimacing as salt water got into his eyes. He struggled to keep them afloat, his entire body aching. It seemed that dunk was what his body needed to realize how tired it was. Now the two of them were bobbing way more, the water threatening to submerge them once again.

“ _Gabe_!” Jack’s voice broke through the heavy coughing going between the two of them.

“We’re fine,” He wheezed, reaching up and patting Sombra’s arm. “Just getting harder to stay afloat.”

Sombra grumbled, “If we die, I’m h-haunting your base.”

Jack began speaking but the two were just too tired, they couldn’t really process what he was saying. Jack’s voice was getting a little frantic, almost like he was trying to get the two of them to respond. Sombra grumbled, mumbling a curse under her breath before she lifted a hand and swiped.

Instantly the screen disappeared, leaving the both of them in quiet silence. The sound of the ocean around them was the only thing heard besides their teeth chittering. Sombra was slumping even more against Gabriel, the grip she had around his shoulders loosening. Gabriel grunted, gripping one of her arms tightly.

“Sombra,” He growled, trying to look at her over his shoulder. Her head was slumped against his shoulder and her breathing was coming out in quick wheezes. “Sombra, stay away.”

Sombra shook violently and whined. She lifted her head before slumping, unable to muster the effort to even do that. Gabriel wanted to speak, wanted to say something, but honestly he just couldn’t find the effort. He took in a shuddering breath, closing his eyes and praying Overwatch would pick them up soon. If they honestly died in the fucking water, Gabriel would be pissed.

“Hey… Gabi.” Sombra mumbled, momentarily surprising Gabriel. He’d thought she had fallen asleep. And he honestly couldn’t remember why that would’ve been a bad thing. He just knew she probably shouldn’t.

It took him a moment to realize he hadn’t even responded. He shrugged a shoulder, reworking the grip on her arm. “Yeah?”

“Can we g-get frost bite?”

“Who knows,” He snorted, looking up to the sky. In the distance, he saw something twinkling. Furrowing his brows, he pursed his lips. “If w-we do, hope you’re ready for c-c-cybernetic limbs.”

“Sweet. More upgrades.”

The rumbling in the distance was getting louder now that Gabriel realized it. And not only that, but the twinkling light also got brighter. In no time at all a dropship appeared above them, the backdoor opening to spill a warm yellow glow on the waters below.

“Incoming!” Came a shout.

Dropping down in front of them was an advanced, self-lifting stretcher. It was like a tub really, the padding on the inside a teal-colour and made of a squishy material. Gabriel huffed, pulling Sombra off his back. It was like prying off ice, Sombra acting like she was frozen to him. And perhaps she was. He made sure to somewhat put her in gently, struggling for a moment to wrap the straps over her and clip them firmly into place.

He breathed out between his teeth, taking Sombra’s shaking hand when she raised it. He felt a twitch from her that could be considered a squeeze. Gabriel returned the gesture as much as he could.

“See ya up there, j-jefe.”

“Yeah. Make sure to give A-Angela our medical records.” Gabriel pat the side of the stretcher before pressing the up button on the thing. It beeped before humming to life, glowing as it began to float up. He watched it disappear into the ship.

As he bobbed into the water, it took about 5 minutes before the stretcher was once again back in the water. He struggled to pull himself into it, arms not working like they should. Gabriel huffed, gritting his teeth. This was such a pain.

With a cough, Gabriel forced his form to break down. Like a very lumpy cloud he pooled into the cot. Now that he was a pile of cold smoke, it was rather hard to pull himself back together. With great effort he formed himself piece by piece. Then he eventually managed to slap the button. It beeped and now he too was being lifted into the air. As he got closer and closer towards the ship, Gabriel could hear the frantic yelling of everyone on board. Orders were being barked, but Hell if he could understand them. He was extremely tired and at this point he just wanted to sleep. And now that he was safe, that’s what he was going to do.

So Gabriel closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry if anything in this chapter seems off? (I.E my poor portrayal of hypothermia. Research can only do so much for you, after all). Hopefully it doesn't detract from the story entirely!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Local spook bonds with coyote and lizard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Let it be known that I have no clue what I'm doing at this point on. Literally I know as much as you guys do. Though maybe I know more since I'm the one writing it... But what I'd like to say is that I plan to wrap this story up sooner or later. I won't give a specific amount of chapters since I know myself enough that when I say 3 chapters left it ends up with 5 or more. And once this is done I will probably take some time off to get further in my other fic before I actually start writing another multi-chapter fic. But honestly speaking I kind of want to branch out in fandoms. I've been writing nothing but Overwatch the past.... Idk two years?? And I'm eager to broaden my horizons. But to even begin that I would need to get inspiration. And then pick a fandom to write something for.... Hmm. Thoughts for the future I guess. Till then, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and sorry for the 3 month delay! Also if you aren't reading my other fics, I made a twitter a while back where I post either art or updates on what fic I'm working on and when a new chapter of something is being posted.

Gabriel came to gradually. He registered the rhythmic beeping and the sterile smell in the air, indicating he was in a medical facility of sorts. He laid there, expertly feigning sleep as he took into account every little thing about his body. For starters he ached all over, but that was easily ignored. Seems he was pumped with the good numbing shit.

He wasn’t cold, quite the opposite really. The weight of blankets on him was enough to make him sweat a bit. Gabriel refused to move them just yet, not wanting to give any indication that he was awake.

It took a moment for his mind to catch up with him after he catalogued everything he could without opening his eyes. Right. He and Sombra had been on a boat, Talon blew it up, and they got stuck in the ocean. Then Overwatch picked them up hours later when they were suffering from hypothermia.

Groaning at his side caught Gabriel’s attention. It was then he realized that it wasn’t his heart monitor giving off a steady beat. If anything now that he was focusing, Gabriel could catch an unsteady “beep” with several seconds of heavy silence between them. Compared to the steady beeping coming further away from him, Gabriel had cause for concern. Then he remembered that he’d been under the impression that he didn’t have a heartbeat to begin with, so maybe he was doing better than he used to. Hopefully hypothermia wasn’t the cause. He’d rather not have to almost freeze to death just to have a heartbeat every now and again.

“Fuck my head…” Sombra groaned.

Sheets rustled and the hacker cursed again under her breath. Deciding they were probably safe, Gabriel finally let his eyes open. He had to close them right after because of the assault on his retinas. He bit back his own curse, the small hiss he made not entirely muffled.

“Ah, you’re both awake.” Came a voice that was achingly familiar.

“It’s too bright,” Sombra let out a whine and dragged her covers over her head.

Angela hummed, moving around them and checking the two machines continuing to beep away. “How are you two feeling?”

“Like there are needles stabbing into the back of my eyes and I got run over by an OR14. Repeatedly.” Gabriel’s voice was raspy and dry, like he was trying to swallow past cotton. He vaguely wondered if his battered throat had more to do with his flower problem than the hypothermia. But since he didn’t feel the urge to cough any petals up, he was content to ignore that problem for now.

The lump of blankets housing Sombra snorted. The hacker shifted slightly so only part of her face peeked at Gabriel from under the blankets. “You look like it, too.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and politely offered her the finger. “Hi pot, meet kettle.”

“Bet I still look better than you.”

“Keep telling yourself that, kid.”

Angela ignored their bickering, moving about the room. She came to Gabriel, paying no attention to his scowl and protests before running through the basic check-up like shining a light in his eyes, checking his breathing, etc. Angela hummed and made a few notes on a data-pad when she was done.

She nodded in satisfaction, she moved over to Sombra. “Well that isn’t surprising. You did suffer an intense bout of hypothermia. And Gabriel, you had to undergo mild surgery to get that piece of wood removed from your side! You’re lucky you’ve only got aches left and didn’t have to lose a limb!” Angela laughed at that, “But anyways, from what I can see, your vitals are fine. I never thought I’d say it, but Moira’s notes were quite helpful! Especially for you, Gabriel. I nearly panicked when your heartrate wouldn’t pick up and you barely bled during surgery. Turns out your heart pumps far slower than the average person. And I don’t mean that lightly. Your heartbeat is almost non-existent! Quite the abnormality. But then again you are a walking anomaly.”

Sombra gasped at Angela’s words and was quick to scramble into a sitting position, staring at Gabriel with wide eyes. “Gabi!”

Angela seemed surprised at her panic, looking between the two of them with furrowed brows. Gabriel also managed to sit up, a frown slowly forming.

“What?”

“I-I need you to be honest with me.” Sombra closed her eyes, taking in a shuddering breath. “And no matter what, y-you can’t lie to me. Ok?”

At Gabriel’s nod, Sombra bit her lip and let out a shuddering breath. She opened her eyes, tears shining in the corners of them as her bottom lip trembled. “Am I… Purple?”

There was silence for a moment before Gabriel said in an equally serious fashion. “No, it’s worse. You’re blue. With sparkles.”

“Oh Dios!”

Angela’s growing concern instantly popped like a balloon. A tirade of expressions passed over her face before setting on a scolding look. “Oh honestly! I cannot believe you two!”

Sombra’s grin was infectious and it soon had Gabriel smirking. The two began cackling, wheezing in-between their groans of pain. Laughing while feeling like they’ve been steamrolled probably wasn’t the best idea, but Gabriel and Sombra were a little too high on pain meds to care.

Angela’s glare faltered and instead a strained smile pulled at the corners of her lips. She was watching Gabriel laugh with a heart swelling to the brink with pain-tinged nostalgia. Never before had she thought she’d hear Gabriel’s laughter again. It was almost too much to bear.

She cleared her throat and wiped the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “While I am glad to see that the two of you are doing well, I would appreciate it if you did not cause me needless concern like that!” Angela scolded as she quickly checked over Sombra like she did with Gabriel.

Gabriel and Sombra wheezed, the younger of the two reaching over in order to bump fists with Gabriel. The wraith was feeling practically weightless, his head having that floaty safe feeling that he knew was attributed to the drugs pumping through his body.

“I’m hungry.” Sombra suddenly complained, rolling onto her back and shoving away some blankets.

Angela sighed as she moved away from the two of them. She passed a row of empty cots and stopped at a desk pushed into the corner. It was littered with data-pads and papers, not to mention several mugs and an empty coffee maker.

“Well you two have been asleep for about three days. It’s no wonder you’re starving. I’ll ask Reinhardt to make the two of you some light soup since he’s on kitchen duty tonight. I don’t want to risk you vomiting up your food because your stomach can’t handle something solid.” Angela picked up a data-pad and began scrolling through it. To the room she said, “Athena?”

“ _Yes, doctor Ziegler_?” The AI’s voice chimed in, echoing around the room.

“Could you please let the others know that Gabriel and Sombra are awake? And ask Reinhardt to make them something light to eat?”

“ _Of course_.”

“Thank you,” Angela looked up from her data-pad and smiled at Gabriel and Sombra. “Why don’t the two of you sleep some more? I will wake you up when your food arrives.”

Gabriel might’ve been stubborn enough to disagree any other time, but as of right now, he was extremely tired. So without further prompting he turned onto his side and pulled the blankets up over his head. They were thick enough to block out almost all the light so Gabriel had no troubles falling back asleep.

When consciousness returned to Gabriel, it was to the sound of chatter and the smell of something good and spicy hanging in the air. He grumbled softly, shuffling around a few blankets in order to stick his head out.

“And he’s awake!”

Gabriel growled and cast a glare towards the end of his bed. Sitting against the edge was Jesse, Genji having the courtesy to actually pull a chair over and sit in it.

“We figured you’d be **dead** asleep for a couple more hours.” Jesse hummed, tipping his hat back.

“You making puns, cowboy?” Gabriel asked gruffly.

Sombra, from where she sat, snorted. She had a bowl of soup in her lap and was watching a show on one of her screens. “You missed all the fun. He had just finished making jokes about how your snoring could rival a warthog.”

Without hesitation Gabriel raised a foot and kicked at Jesse’s backside. The cowboy wannabee yelped as he was knocked off the edge of Gabriel’s bed. He scrambled for purchase and only slightly slipped against the tile. When he righted himself he ignored Genji and Sombra’s laughing in order to turn his glare on Gabriel.

“Well I ain’t wrong! Even back in Blackwatch ya were so loud I couldn’t even think!”

“All these years and still no manners. I would’ve though Ana beat some into you by now.” Gabriel griped, tucking his foot back under his pile of blankets.

Jesse snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, “Oh I have manners. Just none reserved for the likes of you.”

Just then Angela walked into the room, a fresh pot of coffee in hand. She frowned at the sight of Gabriel and Jesse glaring at each other. “Jesse McCree, you had better not be harassing my patients.”

Instantly Jesse straightened and spun around to face Angela. He grinned almost impossibly wide, “Of course not Ang’! Just givin’ Reyes a good ol’ welcome!”

“Uh-huh. And did you give Gabriel his food like I asked?” A glance to her desk where a lone bowl of soup lay answered her question.

Jesse was quick to stammer an apology before rushing to her desk and picking up the tray the bowl of soup was sitting on. He then carefully carried it back, offering it to Gabriel.

Gabriel grunted a thanks, too hungry to tease Jesse. He took the tray gratefully, grabbing the spoon and digging in without preamble. Gabriel was not at all ashamed at the pleased groan he made the moment the soup hit his tongue. It’s been years since he last ate Reinhardt’s cooking. He had every right to make sounds.

“Gabriel, eat slower or you’re going to upset your stomach.” Angela scolded without even looking up from a data-pad.

It was to be expected that Gabriel would ignore her. However after getting halfway done with the spicy soup, Gabriel took note that Genji and Jesse were still watching him. Sombra had given no indication she was interested in starting up a conversation. Her attention was too focused on the sobbing words Juliana was saying to her lover, pleading with him to come back to her.

“May I help you?” Gabriel asked, quirking a brow at the two men.

Genji laughed and rubbed the back of his head, “Sorry for staring. Just still trying to process that you truly are here and this isn’t just an apparition.”

Gabriel snorted and turned his attention back to his soup. “I’d pity you if my mug was what you were hallucinating.”

“I will have to agree with you. If I was hallucinating, I’d rather it be about Zenyatta than you. No offense.”

Jesse snickered while Gabriel rolled his eyes. He muttered something under his breath, finishing off the last bits of his soup. Sighing he set the bowl back on the tray and leaned against his pillows.

“Alright apparently I’ve missed a lot over the years. So Genji’s seemingly no longer one tiptoe away from becoming a homicidal vengeance seeker and, from the sounds of things, has a boyfriend.” At Genji’s nod Gabriel hummed, not offering further comment. He then let his eyes slide towards Jesse and didn’t miss the way the cowboy suddenly found the floor to be rather interesting. “And what about you, cowboy?”

The moment Jesse opened his mouth to speak he was interrupted by Genji shoving a hand into his face and eagerly leaning towards Gabriel. “My brother’s banging Jesse!”

“Genji!”

“What? It’s true!” Genji laughed at Jesse’s blush and the way his voice cracked in embarrassment. “They’ve been sleeping together for three months and dating for two.”

Now Jesse was shoving at Genji, furiously trying to smother him with his hat. “Shut it! He don’t need to know that! Last thing I want is Reyes to hear is about my sex life. Besides, how do ya even know all that?”

“Hanzo needed someone to talk to when you guys first started courting each other.”

“So he went to you?” Jesse asked incredulously.

“Oh no, he went to Zenyatta.” Genji hummed and leaned back in his chair, “But because I knew you the most and Hanzo didn’t trust anyone else, Zen had me come and offer advice. So really it’s thanks to me your relationship came to fruition. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Now wait just a minute-!” Jesse began only for Gabriel to cut him off.

“Ok hold up, stop this crazy train so I can play catch up.” Gabriel waited till he had both their attention, which wasn’t long, before he began talking. “So for starters, I was obviously aware Hanzo had joined Overwatch. Kind of hard to miss being shot at with arrows and two large Dragons showing up every now and again. What I want to know is who was the first to suggest him joining?”

Genji raised his hand, speaking when Gabriel raised a brow. “That would be me. But for different reasons than what you remember in Blackwatch. Back then I wanted Hanzo dead, yes. However my time with the Shambali after Overwatch fell really helped me heal. And when I got the call, I knew it was time I finally faced my brother. I’ll admit it wasn’t the reunion I thought it’d be, not by a longshot. But after a lot of struggling, Hanzo and I finally made up. Now we’re like brothers again and it’s… Amazing. I truly missed him.”

Gabriel nodded slowly, processing the information before looking at Jesse. “And how did you end up sleeping with him? I sure hope you decked him before kissing him.”

Jesse sputtered, pulling his hat down so it covered most of his face. “I didn’t outright hit him for what he did to Genji! I wanted to! But… It’d have been like beatin’ a wounded animal. He was already hurtin’, didn’t need me to help with that. But that don’t mean I was too kind the first few weeks he was here.”

“Oh yeah, Jesse took every opportunity to heckle Hanzo. But now they’re all gross and lovey-dovey.” Genji snorted, tone implying he was rolling his eyes underneath his mask.

“Excuse me? We’re gross? Have ya seen the way you and Zen act around each other? You’re way more mushier than us!”

Genji crossed his arms over his chest and leaned towards Jesse. “No way! Anything involving Zenyatta isn’t gross! And we’re just very open about our affection! It isn’t my fault Hanzo’s so emotionally constipated that my love looks too mushy to you!”

“Now that ain’t true. He just struggles expressing himself from time to time and ya know it!”

The two divulged into bickering, Gabriel watched them with visible amusement. He found it extremely entertaining, even a little surreal, to watch Jesse put Genji in a headlock. Gabriel never thought he’d be able to have a moment like this again. It was… Peaceful. It made his chest burn with a sweet warmth. Gabriel found himself enjoying the sensation, welcoming it with open arms.

So Gabriel smiled and leaned back, watching the two grown men act like children. He laughed, throwing out his own teasing remarks. He marvelled in the normalcy that Genji and Jesse were able to bring. It was refreshing. Gabriel honestly hoped interacting with the other Overwatch members, new and old, would be this easy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cookies are given and Angela meddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter isn't super long, so sorry about that. Also sorry for the slow updates. I honestly thought I'd have more free time this semester but a lot of shit is happening that's making it harder and harder to do anything "fun". But I'm still trying to push through. For now here's a chapter with a not quite cliffhanger. Lol. Hopefully it builds hype for the next chapter~

“Oh now that’s just stupid!” Sombra exclaimed just as Gabriel groaned.

On screen they watched as the woman giggled and handed out the individual roses. The only one not getting a rose was a rather spindly looking man with red shaggy hair and a pair of thick glasses. He looked like a complete and utter dork yet he had been the one Sombra and Gabriel had been rooting for.

“Tom has been nothing but sweet to you and you pick Justin over him?” Gabriel shook his head in utter disappointment.

“Justin’s a tool!” Sniffing, Sombra shook her head, “Nope, I’ve decided. If she can’t see how much of a goofy catch Tom is then she doesn’t deserve him. I hope you find love Tom!!”

Their noise was interrupted by the door to the infirmary opening, a certain peppy Brit zipping in with a wide grin on her face. “Well ain’t it just lively in here! Whatcha watchin’ there, loves?”

“Reruns of the Bachelorette.” Sombra said as she navigated to the next episode. “Pull up a chair if ya wanna watch. The current bachelorette is dumb and too busy looking at muscles and not personality.”

Lena giggled and in the next moment she was standing at the edge of the Gabriel’s bed. “Oh I’d love to! But first! Package delivery!!”

With a cheer Lena held up a rather large Tupperware container. It had cute little animal prints on the lid and sides, perfectly obscuring whatever was inside. She held it out to Gabriel and grinned, though yanked it away after a second thought. Gabriel, thankfully, hadn’t started reaching for it yet.

“Ooooh! First I just want to say that I’m so glad you’re back in Overwatch! And Sombra, welcome to the team! I’d have come say hi earlier, but Angela said that it’d be best for you lot to only have a few visitors at a time so you weren’t overwhelmed! Then Genji and Jesse started taking up all the visiting slots! I know they didn’t intend to hog, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who missed you!” Lena puffed out her cheeks, though her pout didn’t last long and instead gave way to giggles. “Anyways, I’ve managed to nag myself a visit! And I’m acting as a deliverer for Reinhardt! He’d have come see you himself, but he’s still rather upset and didn’t want to yell at someone in their sick bed. Buuuuut!”

Once again she offered the cute plastic box to Gabriel, “He’s not upset enough to ignore you! So this morning he woke up and got set on baking!! They’re still all nice and warm! Plus he made enough for Sombra to have some too! A little “ _Welcome Back to Overwatch_ ” and “ _Welcome to Overwatch_ ” gift!”

Now Gabriel really was paying attention. He took the container and pulled it open. Instantly the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies filled the air. Sombra leaned from her cot and looked down at the neatly made cookies.

“Ooooh, those smell good! Man, if I knew I would’ve gotten cookies, I would’ve joined Overwatch ages ago!”

Gabriel sent her a look, “Really? You’d defect from Talon just for cookies?” Despite his tone, Gabriel was already reaching for a cookie. He wasted no time into biting a huge chunk off and munching. It’d been years since he last ate Reinhardt’s homemade cookies. When he “ _died_ ” he came to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t ever have them again. And now that he had the chance to eat them once more, he intended to enjoy them to the fullest.

Sombra reached over and grabbed her own cookie while sticking her tongue out at Gabriel. “I’m a simple girl with simple needs.” She bit into the cookie and let out a surprised and happy sound. “Oh shit these are good. That’s it. So long as I keep getting these cookies I won’t ever turn my back on Overwatch.”

She crammed the rest of the cookie into her mouth and grabbed two more, sitting back and using her nails to widen the screen and press play. She then pushed the screen back so it was now floating at the foot of their beds, Lena hopping up to sit next to Gabriel on his cot and watch with them.

Gabriel paused in chewing when he felt a stare on him. He turned and raised a brow at Lena’s grin.

She giggled and practically vibrated in her seat, “Sorry, don’t mean to stare. It’s just I’m just so happy to have you here! I missed you so much!!” Lena hesitated before flinging her arms around Gabriel and hugging him tightly. She then softly whispered, “Welcome back Gabriel. Overwatch just wasn’t the same without you.”

Gabriel swallowed hard, his hand coming up to rub at Lena’s back. He sighed and patted her a couple of times, “Yeah, missed you too, kid. I’ve seen the work you’ve been doing—,”

“Tried to foil some of em, too!” Sombra cut in unhelpfully.

“And I’m proud of you.” Gabriel continued like Sombra hadn’t spoken.

If Lena’s eyes looked a little misty Gabriel said nothing. She laughed, nudging him with her shoulder. “Well we’re proud of you too. Also Angela’s going to release you sometime tomorrow.”

Gabriel chuckled and leaned back against his pillows. “And how do you know that? You jumping around timelines again?”

Lena’s hum neither confirmed nor denied that fact. Deciding to leave it alone, he finished off his cookie and finally focused on the screen as the show played. Gabriel made some room against his pillows for Lena to lean against. Then the three sat back and watched reruns of the Bachelorette.

 ///

“Now no strenuous exercise. And Gabriel I don’t want you pushing your nanites by creating your weapons, turning into clouds, or teleporting everywhere. I don’t care if it doesn’t cost you a lot of energy, don’t do it.” Angela paused in thought and lowered her clipboard, pushing up her glasses and levelling a harsh look at Gabriel. “Also, your ‘ _garden problem_ ’? Take care of it before your next check-up or else I’m locking you and Jack in a closet and giving Jamison the key. And then it’ll be up to him on letting you out or not.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. He and Sombra had been given old Blackwatch jackets and sweats while the outfits they were picked up in were being washed. Their current clothes had been cleaned a while back and smelt like flowers. Gabriel had grumbled at the smell in annoyance since Blackwatch usually washed their clothes without any scented soap.

“Yeah, yeah. I will.” Gabriel waved a hand dismissively.

Angela looked annoyed but then she smirked at him. Turning around she said, “By the way, you both will be having separate tours of the facility. Sombra, you’ll be getting a tour from Zenyatta. Gabriel, you’ll be getting a tour from Jack.”

The sound of someone choking and Sombra’s laughter was more than enough confirmation that Angela’s words had the desired impact. She walked back to her desk and waved over her shoulder. “Try not to pick fights. Winston intends to talk to you both later on rules and restrictions so try and get most of the tour done.”

“Haha! Ooooh boy sucks to be you!!” Sombra cackled at Gabriel’s strained look. “I get the monk and you get your boy toy! Try not to start making out in a closet, old timer!”

Gabriel scowled at her and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know they’re putting Zenyatta as your guide just to test you, right?”

Sombra rolled her eyes, “Well duh. Putting one of the few Omnics with me for a simple tour is a little suspicious. Especially since I’m a world renowned hacker and I could mess with all the tech here if I wanted.” She paused, cupping her chin and humming. “That reminds me… Hey doc? Does a Miss Aleksandra Zaryanova work here too?”

Without looking up from her stuff, Angela let out a hum. “Yes Zarya is working with us here. Given the nature of your… Acquaintanceship, we’ve requested that she take a day off base. Agent Mei also went to accompany her. However they will be back in order to sit in for the meeting you’ll be having with Winston. Every current member of Overwatch will be sitting in to watch.”

“Voyeurs…” Sombra muttered softly under her breath.

Gabriel sighed, nudging her with his elbow. “Let’s just sit down and wait for our escorts. We’ll deal with the meeting when it happens.”

The two settled on the same cot, Gabriel reading a book Ana had been kind enough to bring him and Sombra playing a card game on one of her screens. A knock at the door pulled their attention from their separate tasks. Zenyatta and Jack entered the room once the door slid open.

“Doctor Ziegler, we’re here to pick up our charges.” Zenyatta said, dipping his head in greeting.

Angela was sitting at her desk, glasses on and piles of paper taking up most of her attention. She nodded her head and only glanced up momentarily.

“Yes, alright. Sombra, Gabriel, you are dismissed.” She waved her hand in a shooing motion, too engrossed in whatever it was she was working on.

Once outside the room, Zenyatta tilted his head and put his hands together. “Though we have already encountered each other on the battle field, this is the first time we have meet on the same side. Therefore I think greetings are in order.” To punctuate this statement he offered a hand to Gabriel, also offering a hand to Sombra after the wraith shook it. “It is nice to meet the both of you. I am Tekhartha Zenyatta and I sincerely hope we can get along.”

Gabriel offered a small, barely there smile. “Gabriel Reyes. Um… I’ve been wanting to say thanks for helping Genji. He was in a pretty bad place when I… Well died. So it’s good to see that he’s doing better since the last time I saw him.”

Zenyatta chuckled, “Think nothing of it. It was Genji that did most of the work getting to where he is now. I simply offered him support and the tools necessary to grow. If anything it should be I thanking you.”

That caused Gabriel to furrow his brows in confusion. It seems his question was written on his face, for Zenyatta laughed warmly. “It is because of your decision to bring Genji into Blackwatch that he survived. While I am not saying the methods used to get him to work with the organization were just, I can’t deny that I am thankful. Because Genji was given another chance at life, I was able to meet him and have him become a part of mine. And for this I will always be eternally grateful.”

Sombra grinned, nudging Gabriel. “Aww isn’t that cute? Your little boys are all grown up and getting boyfriends of their own! Though it seems only Genji’s the one with good taste. Jesse takes after you.”

Gabriel didn’t miss the way Jack stiffened at Sombra’s words. He shot her a small glare and gave her a push. “Alright enough out of you. Go handle your tour and stay out of trouble. Overwatch may be reluctant to kick your ass while you’re still recovering, but I have no such qualms. So keep in line or else.”

Despite the threat directed her way, Sombra still cackled. She linked arms with Zenyatta, pulling him down a hall with her. “So tell me, Zen! Has Genji ever spoke to you any stories from his time in Blackwatch? Specifically about Gabi?”

Their voices faded as they rounded the corner and already Gabriel could feel a headache forming. He signed and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a moment of silence he chanced a look at Jack. He was dressed in his usual combat pants and a well-worn hoodie, though he’d forgone his mask so Gabriel was able to see his face and every little expression he made. Currently his face was scrunched up into a familiar deep frown.

“So…” Jack stated, glancing at him. The two shared a look before Jack’s expression eased slightly and he offered a rather hesitant smile. “You’ve got poor taste, huh?”

Gabriel couldn’t help the snort that left him. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he shrugged. “Seems like that’s the case. Though I guess my taste isn’t as bad as Jesse’s.”

“Should I be insulted?”

“Only if you wanna be insulted every time Sombra opens her mouth. She’s got more thorns than a cactus and lies like it’s a sport.” Gabriel hummed after a moment, “Though you get used to it. If you’re able to tell when she’s lying then that means she likes you. Sombra doesn’t keep up a good act around the people she likes.”

Jack shook his head, “Great. Just what we need. Another wild dog to add to the mix. You always were good at finding strays.”

Gabriel smirked at him as he walked past, heading in the opposite direction Sombra and Zenyatta had gone in. “I don’t deny it. I found you, didn’t I?”

“Found me? As I recall, you were the one that became **my** roommate back in the _SEP_.” Jack scoffed as he walked after Gabriel, the two of them falling in step.

“Yeah, but I was in _SEP_ longer than you.”

“By two months!”

“Two months with testing every other week. Meaning I’ve got four extra tests than you, pretty boy.”

Jack made a show of rolling his eyes. “Oh well then excuse me.” The two of them slowed to a stop once they reached a branching of hallways. Jack frowned, casting a glance towards Gabriel. “There’s something that’s bugging me.”

“Oh? And what’s that?” Gabriel asked.

“Do you even need a tour? You’ve been here before Overwatch was disbanded and one time after. And Winston says he hasn’t changed anything since then, not completely anyways. So why do you need a tour?”

Now that Jack said it, it did seem rather odd that Gabriel was being given a tour. If he just needed a babysitter then he could’ve stayed in the medical office. Or if not that, they could’ve just had him escorted to a place to sit and wait for the meeting.

Gabriel blinked, mulling it over for a moment before he felt a tickling sensation in his throat. Long used to the feeling, it didn’t bother him at first. Yet then he suddenly remembered what Angela had said before their tour guides had come to pick them up.

After a moment of silence Gabriel snorted in disbelief, his amusement building until he was full out laughing. Jack didn’t seem to understand what he found amusing but he made no effort to curb Gabriel’s laughter. If anything his own face relaxed into a rather serene smile of its own. Though Gabriel knew it was more so directed at him and not at the situation at hand.

Clearing his throat, Gabriel smirked at Jack. “I figured out why you were given the task of being my tour guide. It’s because Angela wants me to finally handle my flower problem.”

Jack seemed surprised for a moment before his cheeks suddenly turned pink and he was looking away. He grit his teeth and raised a hand to rub furiously at his face. “Seriously? Just when I thought she wasn’t going to meddle…”

“Angie’s a serious doctor. She probably expected me to avoid the problem like before.” Gabriel shrugged, “Not like I intended to. Cat’s been out of the bag for a while now.”

Gabriel watched Jack slowly reign in his emotions. He took a deep breath before exhaling just as slowly. Then he fixated Gabriel with a determined look and grabbed his arm.

“Come with me.”


End file.
